valuable

adjective valu·able \ ˈval-yə-bəl , -yə-wə-bəl , -yü-ə- \

|Updated on: 17 Aug 2018

Examples: valuable in a Sentence

Editor's Note: invaluable = valuable?

Definition of valuable

1 a : having monetary value

b : worth a good price

2 a : having desirable or esteemed characteristics or qualities

valuable friendships

b : of great use or service

valuable advice

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valuableness

noun

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valuably

play \ˈval-yə-blē, -yə-wə-blē, -yü-ə-\ adverb

See valuable defined for English-language learners

See valuable defined for kids

Examples of valuable in a Sentence

The watch is extremely valuable.
A lot of valuable advice can be found in this book.
I learned a valuable lesson.
He made many valuable contributions to the field of science.
The volunteers provide a valuable service to the community.
She is a valuable member of the staff.
Clean air is a valuable natural resource that needs to be protected.
Please don't waste my time. My time is very valuable.

Recent Examples of valuable from the Web

Shaqiri may be a valuable player in the absence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is sidelined until November at the earliest, having suffered a knee injury in Liverpool's Champions League win over Roma in April.

— SI.com, "Xherdan Shaqiri Set for Liverpool Medical as Reds Close in on Third Summer Signing," 13 July 2018
In 1993-94, Fedorov was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player of the regular season) and the Frank J. Selke Trophy (top defensive forward) — something no player since has replicated.

— helene st. james, Detroit Free Press, "Should Detroit Red Wings retire Sergei Fedorov's No. 91? It's time.," 12 July 2018
Which is more valuable, spending our days making telemarketing calls or joining a World of Warcraft guild?

— livia gershon, Longreads, "Clocking Out," 11 July 2018
Realmuto is one of the most valuable players in all of baseball.

— matthew defranks, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Marlins surprised J.T. Realmuto didn't win player vote on way to All-Star honor," 9 July 2018
But there was an extremely limited supply, brought to Earth only by the occasional extraterrestrial delivery, making this metal of the gods more valuable than gems or gold.

— jonathan schifman, Popular Mechanics, "The Entire History of Steel," 9 July 2018
Sogard, 32, who proved a valuable utility player last season, re-signed with the Brewers as a free agent for $2.4 million.

— tom haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brewers activate Tyler Saladino from disabled list, designate Eric Sogard for assignment," 5 July 2018
But after news broke this weekend that LeBron James, the greatest basketball player in the world, had signed a four-year deal to joined the Lakers, the Wish deal will likely be a lot more valuable.

— jason del rey, Recode, "LeBron James’ deal with the Lakers is a gift for Wish, the shopping startup whose logo will soon be next to his face in every photo," 2 July 2018
Nick Foles is back with us, the most valuable player, and there's Jesse.

— Fox News, "Graham seeks answers from Rosenstein on Russia investigation," 27 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'valuable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

invaluable = valuable?

Many people find it confusing that the in- prefix at the beginning of invaluable apparently lacks the meaning "not" found in a number of other words, such as invalid, inarticulate, and insane. In fact, the prefix does indicate negation, but in a way that is not immediately obvious. The original (and current) meaning of invaluable is "valuable beyond estimation"; the word describes something so precious that one cannot assign a price to it. This, clearly, is the opposite of the meaning "having no value; valueless" that the word might seem to carry. Invaluable actually has been recorded in the sense "without value," but such use has been exceedingly rare and is practically nonexistent today.