as in expensive
commanding a large price
running is one sport that does not require a lot of costly equipment
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Recent Examples of costly
Also, 2025 was also the first year on record with a billion-dollar wildfire as the costliest event of the year.
—
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 10 Jan. 2026
Penalties proved costly for the first time this postseason, with Miami flagged 10 times — many at critical moments.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 Jan. 2026
The wrong choice will be costly in terms of the state budget.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 9 Jan. 2026
The engineers found a solution that was technically sweet but financially costly.
—Martin Elvis, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for costly
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 10 Jan. 2026
Penalties proved costly for the first time this postseason, with Miami flagged 10 times — many at critical moments.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 Jan. 2026
The wrong choice will be costly in terms of the state budget.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 9 Jan. 2026
The engineers found a solution that was technically sweet but financially costly.
—Martin Elvis, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for costly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for costly
Adjective
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As for the least expensive month, September tends to be the cheapest time to visit, along with August.—
Marina Watts,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
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Traditional humanoid robots depend heavily on data collected by human operators, which is slow and expensive.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Pisol Butter Dish This butter dish has proven to be one of my most valuable fridge accessories yet.—
Sian Babish,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
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There’s nothing a crisp white button-up can’t do ( wear it as a beach cover-up, office blouse, cozy layer, or casual throw-on)—making this buy extra valuable at 57 percent off.—
Julia Morlino,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Costly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/costly. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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