expensive
gb/ɪkspˈɛnsɪv/ us/ɪkspˈɛnsɪv/
A2
English
~ 1700
Senses
0 senses
adjective
A2
property
1
costing a lot of money
Costing a lot of money.
Usage pattern:
[something] is expensive
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'expensive' with 'valuable'; 'valuable' means worth a lot, but not necessarily costly to buy.
Synonyms
costly (Slightly more formal; can also imply figurative cost such as effort or loss.)
|
pricey (Informal; often used in casual conversation.)
Antonyms
cheap (Implies low price, sometimes with the connotation of low quality.)
|
inexpensive (Neutral term for low price without implying poor quality.)
Collocations
expensive car
|expensive restaurant
|expensive clothes
|expensive gift
|expensive habit
Themes
shopping
|economy
|daily life
|daily_life
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- This watch is too expensive for me to buy.
- We stayed at an expensive hotel by the beach.
- Organic food can be more expensive than regular food.
- He bought her an expensive piece of jewelry.
- Eating out every night is becoming expensive.
Learner examples
- The shoes are expensive.
- This phone is very expensive.
- That restaurant is expensive.
- Her dress looks expensive.
Grammar
Dictionary form
expensive
IPA
GB/ɪkspˈɛnsɪv/
US/ɪkspˈɛnsɪv/
Syllables & stress
ex - pens - ive (3 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (pens)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: expensive
Word family
Core family
expense
noun B1
expensively
adverb
Negative and opposite forms
inexpensive
adjective B1
inexpensively
adverb
Advanced or less common
expenditure
noun B2
expend
verb B2
Expressions
at an expensive price
1/ˈæt ən ɪkspˈɛnsɪv pɹˈaɪs/
fixed phrase
paying a lot of money for something
Paying a lot of money to get something.
Examples
- He got the tickets at an expensive price because he bought them late.
- They managed to buy the house, but at an expensive price.
make [something] expensive
1/mˈeɪk sˈʌmθɪŋ ɪkspˈɛnsɪv/
fixed phrase
cause something's cost to be high
To cause the price of something to be high.
Examples
- High demand can make housing expensive in big cities.
- Import taxes make these goods expensive.
too expensive for [someone]
1/tˈu ɪkspˈɛnsɪv fɚ sˈʌmwˌʌn/
fixed phrase
cost more than someone can afford
Costing more money than someone can pay or wants to pay.
Examples
- That car is too expensive for me.
- This holiday is too expensive for most families.