worth

1 of 4

noun

1
a
: monetary value
farmhouse and lands of little worth
b
: the equivalent of a specified amount or figure
a dollar's worth of gas
2
: the value of something measured by its qualities or by the esteem in which it is held
a literary heritage of great worth
3
a
: moral or personal value
trying to teach human worth
b
: merit, excellence
a field in which we have proved our worth
4

worth

2 of 4

preposition

1
a
: equal in value to
b
: having assets or income equal to
2
: deserving of
well worth the effort

worth

3 of 4

adjective

1
archaic : having monetary or material value
2
archaic : estimable

worth

4 of 4

verb

worthed; worthing; worths

intransitive verb

archaic
: become
usually used in the phrase woe worth
Phrases
worth one's salt
: of substantial or significant value or merit
for all one is worth
: to the fullest extent of one's value or ability see also for what it's worth

Examples of worth in a Sentence

Noun A diamond's worth is determined partly by its cut and clarity. The worth of the stocks has increased. The furniture was of little worth since it was in such bad condition. He has proved his worth to the team. The book has proved its worth by saving me hundreds of dollars. Preposition an actor worth several million dollars The corporation is worth billions of dollars. A carefully written cover letter and resume is worth the effort. It takes a long time to get a table at the restaurant, but the food is well worth the wait. The movie was good, but I didn't think it was worth all the fuss. Chicago is worth a visit. I think you'll really like it. Do you think the car is worth buying? It is worth noting that his father and mother are also doctors. This book is not worth reading. an idea well worth consideration
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The Bigger Carry-On is 22.7 by 15.4 by 9.6 inches and weights 7.9 pounds with a nearly 48-liter capacity, which fits up to a week’s worth of outfits. Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 The city purchased about $4.6 million worth of police and fire equipment using the federal security grant host cities have long received. Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024 Now, Factory 52 developer PLK Communities is working to expand the mixed-use project with over $25 million worth of additional housing and retail space. The Enquirer, 7 Mar. 2024 However, in its previous quarter the company reportedly sold $100 million worth of gold. Bruce Gil, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 This doesn’t strike me as terribly surprising given that Mastercard processed $9 trillion worth of transactions globally last year. John Kell, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024 At Casa Fina in Boyle Heights, Assemblymember Miguel Santiago — who in early returns held a lead of fewer than 300 votes over Jurado for second place — thanked the alphabet soup’s worth of unions that had contributed over half a million dollars in independent expenditures on his behalf. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Forbes Valuation Forbes estimates Trump’s net worth at $2.6 billion as of September, which includes $426 million in cash and liquid assets, part of $640 million in personal assets that also include his personal homes, private aircraft, pensions and cryptocurrency holdings. Alison Durkee, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 His broker sold about $1.3 million worth of shares in November when B. Riley’s stock hit a three-year low. Ben Stupples, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024
Preposition
Aim to keep on hand at least three to six months’ worth of all nonnegotiable living expenses. Carry sufficient insurance. Dallas News, 30 Oct. 2022 Are common multivitamins worth the money?New study explores the benefits, harms. Dr. Michael Daignault, USA TODAY, 3 Nov. 2022 Both of those prop bets came through for bettors and there are several others for postseason team performance and individual awards worth keeping an eye on. Jason Hoffman, The Enquirer, 13 Jan. 2022 Finally, at a meeting in Zambia, where giraffes and zebras wandered the grounds of the hotel, the board members approved eight projects worth a total of $168 million. Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2021 In that case, there are plenty of Memorial Day furniture sales worth a browse. Ariel Scotti, Forbes, 28 May 2021 Pompeo also reported receiving two carpets worth a total of $19,400 from the president of Kazakhstan and the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates. Matthew Lee, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2021
Adjective
The Carolina Panthers are signing former Miami Dolphins guard Robert Hunt to a five-year deal worth $100 million. Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 On the first day of the month, a 500X Money Maker instant ticket worth $6 million was claimed by an Ottawa County lottery club. Tanya Wildt, Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024 That means a week of output is worth about €324 million ($354 million) in sales for Tesla. Olesya Dmitracova, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 In April, Trump had said in a financial disclosure filing for his presidential candidacy that his 90 percent stake in the company was worth between $5 million and $25 million and that his income from it had been less than $200. Jonathan O'Connell, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024 Floyd, 31, and Gross-Matos, 26, agreed to two-year deals worth $20 million and $18 million, respectively, as the NFL opened the free agency negotiation window Monday, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a digitally altered picture of an absent British princess is apparently worth a million. Mark Landler, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Together, the stock sales would be worth about $748 million, with Reddit raising about $519 million for the company through the IPO. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 11 Mar. 2024 Huffman’s compensation package for 2023 was worth $193.2 million, which included salary of $341,346, stock awards worth $98.3 million and stock options valued at $93.8 million. Todd Spangler, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024
Verb
The responses from 1,300 players across the league present an unusually revealing look inside how franchises worth billions of dollars are still rankled by problems—with vast gaps in quality from team to team. Andrew Beaton, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023 Is the Simplehuman trash can worth it? Carolyn Forté, Good Housekeeping, 26 May 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'worth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, going back to Old English weorþ, wyrth (strong neuter noun), going back to Germanic *werþa- (whence also Old Frisian werth, worth "value," Old Saxon werth "payment, price," Old High German werd "value, price," Old Icelandic verð, Gothic wairþ "price"), noun derivative from *werþa-, adjective, "of value" — more at worth entry 3

Preposition

Middle English, from worth worth entry 3

Adjective

Middle English, "having monetary value, valuable, having status, deserving, highborn, efficacious, strong," going back to Old English weorþ, wyrþ, worþ "having monetary value, valuable," going back to Germanic *werþa- (whence also Old Frisian werth "of value," Old Saxon werth "of value, worthy, dear," Old High German werd, wert "of value, valuable," Old Icelandic verðr "of value, worthy," Gothic wairþs "deserving"), of uncertain origin

Note: The Middle English adjective continues in part Old English wierðe, wyrðe "worthy, deserving," a ja-stem adjective from the same base. Welsh gwerth "worth, value, price" (whence gwerthu "to sell"), along with Middle Breton guerz, is perhaps an early loan from Old English.

Verb

Middle English worthen "to exist, be, come into existence, become, change, happen," going back to Old English weorþan, wurþan (class III strong verb) "to become, come to be, happen," going back to Germanic *werþan- (whence also Old Frisian wertha "to become, happen, arise," Old Saxon werthan, Old High German werdan, Old Icelandic verða, Gothic wairþan "to become"), going back to an Indo-European verbal base *u̯ert- "turn," whence also Latin vertō, vertere "to cause to revolve, turn, spin," vertor "(I) change direction, turn," Lithuanian verčiù, ver͂sti "to cause to turn," Sanskrit vártate "(it) turns, rolls, revolves"; with zero-grade ablaut Old Church Slavic vrǔštǫ, vrǔteti sę "to turn oneself"; with a causative stem *u̯ort- Old Church Slavic vraštǫ, vratiti "to make turn," Sanskrit vartáyati "(s/he) makes turn"; from an n-present Old Church Slavic obvrǔnǫti sę "to turn around," Tocharian B wärnāmane "turning"

Note: In Germanic the Indo-European base *u̯ert- "turn" developed the figurative sense "become, happen" (compare, in English, "the milk turned sour"), which has largely displaced the literal senses (but compare the suffix *-wearda- -ward entry 1).

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Preposition

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of worth was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near worth

Cite this Entry

“Worth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worth. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

worth

1 of 2 preposition
1
a
: equal in value to
the vase is worth $200
b
: having possessions or income equal to
an actress worth millions
2
: deserving of
well worth the effort
3
: capable of
ran for all I was worth

worth

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: value in terms of money
furniture of little worth
b
: the equivalent of a certain amount or figure
five dollars worth of gas
2
: the value of something measured by its qualities
an experience of great worth
3

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