expensive
Word family
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++ex·pen·sive /ɪkˈspensɪv/ ●●● S1 W2 adjective EXPENSIVEcosting a lot of money 昂贵的，花钱多的 OPP cheap the most expensive restaurant in town 城里最贵的餐馆 Petrol is becoming more and more expensive. 汽油越来越贵了。 Photography is an expensive hobby. 摄影是一项很花钱的业余爱好。expensive to buy/run/produce/maintain etc The house was too big and expensive to run. 房子太大，养起来很费钱。 For low-income families, children’s safety equipment can be prohibitively expensive (=so expensive that most people cannot afford it). 对于低收入家庭来说，儿童的安全设备贵得让人望而却步。 Employing the wrong builder can be a horribly expensive mistake. 用错建筑工人有时会是代价高昂的错误。 Her husband had expensive tastes (=liked expensive things). 她丈夫喜欢的东西都很贵。 —expensively adverb She’s always expensively dressed. 她总是穿得很华贵。n COLLOCATIONSadverbsquite/fairly expensiveThe food’s quite expensive, but it’s really nice.rather/pretty expensive (=more expensive than you expect)I think £1000 for a bed is rather expensive.very/extremely expensiveWe ate at a very expensive restaurant.astronomically/phenomenally expensive (=used to emphasize how expensive something is)Some new medical treatments are phenomenally expensive.hugely expensive (=extremely expensive, especially when you think something is too expensive)The building is hugely expensive to maintain.ridiculously/outrageously/horrendously expensive (=extremely expensive, in a way that seems shocking)Room service in the hotel was ridiculously expensive.extortionately expensive (=extremely expensive, in a way that is not fair or reasonable)Houses in some parts of London are extortionately expensive.prohibitively expensive formal (=too expensive, with the result that most people cannot afford to buy something)HIV medicines are still prohibitively expensive for sufferers in Africa.verbslook expensiveAll of her clothes look very expensive.prove expensiveTheir decision could prove expensive.nounsexpensive tastes (=a desire to have things that are very expensive)His wife has very expensive tastes and his kids always want the latest things.an expensive mistake (=a mistake which results in someone having to spend a lot of money)Choosing the wrong builder turned out to be an expensive mistake. THESAURUSexpensive costing a lot of money 昂贵的，花钱多的an expensive car 昂贵的汽车Apartments in the city are very expensive. 该城市的公寓房非常贵。nAn underground train system is expensive to build.high costing a lot of money. You use high about rents/fees/prices/costs. Don’t use expensive with these words 价格高的〔rents/fees/prices/costs要和high 连用，不能和expensive 连用〕Rents are very high in this area. 这一地区房租很高。Lawyers charge high fees. 律师收费很高。the high cost of living in Japan 日本高昂的生活费用dear [not before noun] British English spoken expensive compared to the usual price 〔比一般价格〕贵的£3.50 seems rather dear for a cup of coffee. 一杯咖啡要3.5英镑，似乎相当贵。pricey /ˈpraɪsi/ informal expensive 昂贵的，价钱高的The clothes are beautiful but pricey. 这些衣服很美，不过太贵了。costly expensive in a way that wastes money 昂贵的〔指浪费金钱〕Upgrading the system would be very costly. 给系统升级太费钱了。They were anxious to avoid a costly legal battle. 他们急于避免一场耗费巨大的诉讼战。cost a fortune informal to be very expensive 花一大笔钱The necklace must have cost a fortune! 这条项链肯定花了一大笔钱！exorbitant /ɪɡˈzɔːbətənt $ -ɔːr-/ much too expensive 价格[金额]过高的Some accountants charge exorbitant fees. 有些会计师收费过高。astronomical astronomical prices, costs, and fees are extremely high 〔价格、费用〕天文数字的the astronomical cost of developing a new spacecraft 开发新型航天器的巨额费用nthe astronomical prices which some people had paid for their seats nThe cost of living is astronomical. overpriced too expensive and not worth the price 定价过高的The DVDs were vastly overpriced. 这些数字影碟定价过高。somebody can’t afford something someone does not have enough money to buy or do something 某人买[负担]不起某物Most people can’t afford to send their children to private schools. 大多数人没钱送子女上私立学校。Examples from the Corpus
expensive• College is more expensive and more critical to middle-class status than in the past.• Do you have any less expensive cameras?• And here you will be seated in an expensive chair.• She spends most of her money on expensive clothes.• Means testing was expensive, clumsy and time-wasting.• Smoking can be an expensive habit.• It will be both a richer world and a less expensive one.• And it's not one of their more expensive ones, either.• The house is on West Boston Avenue, Detroit's most expensive residential area.• an expensive restaurant• My uncle took us out to dinner at an expensive restaurant.• Comparisons reveal that further-processed fish products are more expensive than frozen raw fillets and steaks.• Taxis are so expensive - that's why I usually take the bus.• Movies are incredibly expensive to make these days.• Spartan carries important data from that experiment, which tested lighter and less expensive ways to put large structures in space.expensive to buy/run/produce/maintain etc• And they're too expensive to buy.• Oh sure, a few survived but no one actually bought one because they were too damned expensive to run.• The disadvantage is cartridges are more expensive to produce.• The property contains some 550 historic structures that are expensive to maintain.• This kind of entertainment was computationally intensive, expensive to produce, and expensive to buy.• They are simply too expensive to run and maintain over such a long distance.• Also, a car's very expensive to buy and to run.From Longman Business Dictionaryexpensiveex‧pen‧sive /ɪkˈspensɪv/ adjective1costing a lot of moneyexpensive computer equipmentMany manufacturers would find setting up their own High Street stores prohibitively expensive (=so expensive that they could not afford it).2charging a lot of moneyWe were booked into one of Miami’s most expensive hotels.ex·pen·sive adjective →n COLLOCATIONS1 →THESAURUS1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
a costing lot Business money of Corpus
expensive
ex‧pen‧sive S1 W2 /ɪkˈspensɪv/
adjective
OPP cheap:
the most expensive restaurant in town
Petrol is becoming more and more expensive.
Photography is an expensive hobby.
expensive to buy/run/produce/maintain etc
The house was too big and expensive to run.
For low-income families, children’s safety equipment can be prohibitively expensive (=so expensive that most people cannot afford it).
Employing the wrong builder can be a horribly expensive mistake.
Her husband had expensive tastes (=liked expensive things).
—expensively adverb:
She’s always expensively dressed.
■ adverbs
▪quite/fairly expensive The food’s quite expensive, but it’s really nice.
▪rather/pretty expensive (=more expensive than you expect) I think £1000 for a bed is rather expensive.
▪very/extremely expensive We ate at a very expensive restaurant.
▪astronomically/phenomenally expensive (=used to emphasize how expensive something is) Some new medical treatments are phenomenally expensive.
▪hugely expensive (=extremely expensive, especially when you think something is too expensive) The building is hugely expensive to maintain.
▪ridiculously/outrageously/horrendously expensive (=extremely expensive, in a way that seems shocking) Room service in the hotel was ridiculously expensive.
▪extortionately expensive (=extremely expensive, in a way that is not fair or reasonable) Houses in some parts of London are extortionately expensive.
▪prohibitively expensive formal (=too expensive, with the result that most people cannot afford to buy something) HIV medicines are still prohibitively expensive for sufferers in Africa.
■ verbs
▪look expensive All of her clothes look very expensive.
▪prove expensive Their decision could prove expensive.
■ nouns
▪expensive tastes (=a desire to have things that are very expensive) His wife has very expensive tastes and his kids always want the latest things.
▪an expensive mistake (=a mistake which results in someone having to spend a lot of money) Choosing the wrong builder turned out to be an expensive mistake.
▪ expensive costing a lot of money: an expensive car | Apartments in the city are very expensive. | An underground train system is expensive to build.
▪high costing a lot of money.You use high about rents/fees/prices/costs. Don’t use expensive with these words: Rents are very high in this area. | Lawyers charge high fees. | the high cost of living in Japan
▪dear [not before noun] British English spoken expensive compared to the usual price: £3.50 seems rather dear for a cup of coffee.
▪pricey /ˈpraɪsi/ informal expensive: The clothes are beautiful but pricey.
▪costly expensive in a way that wastes money: Upgrading the system would be very costly. | They were anxious to avoid a costly legal battle.
▪cost a fortune informal to be very expensive: The necklace must have cost a fortune!
▪exorbitant /ɪɡˈzɔːbətənt, ɪɡˈzɔːbɪtənt $ -ɔːr-/ much too expensive: Some accountants charge exorbitant fees.
▪astronomical astronomical prices, costs, and fees are extremely high: the astronomical cost of developing a new spacecraft | the astronomical prices which some people had paid for their seats | The cost of living is astronomical.
▪overpriced too expensive and not worth the price: The DVDs were vastly overpriced.
▪somebody can’t afford something someone does not have enough money to buy or do something: Most people can’t afford to send their children to private schools.
ex‧pen‧sive S1 W2 /ɪkˈspensɪv/
adjective Word Family: noun: expenditure, expense, expenses; verb: expend; adverb: expensively ≠ inexpensively; adjective: expensive ≠ inexpensive
costing a lot of money OPP cheap:
expensive to buy/run/produce/maintain etc
—expensively adverb:
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expensive costing a lot of money; charging high prices 指昂贵的、花钱多的、价格高的 ：◆ I can't afford it—it's just too expensive for me. 我买不起，对我来说这太贵了。 ◆ an expensive restaurant 高档餐馆 costly ( costing a lot of money, especially more than you want to payrather
指昂贵的、花钱多的、价钱比愿意付的为高 ：◆ You want to avoid costly legal proceedings if you can. 如果能够的话你希望避免昂贵的法律诉讼。 overpriced too expensive; costing more than it is worth 指价格太高的、过于昂贵的 ：◆ ridiculously overpriced designer clothes 贵得离谱的名牌衣服 pricey ( expensive指昂贵的、价格高的 ：◆ Houses in the village are now too pricey for local people to afford. 如今该村镇的房价太高，当地人根本买不起。 dear [ ( expensiveBrE 指昂贵、价格高 ：◆ Everything's so dear now, isn't it? 现在什么东西都那么贵，是不是？ NOTE This word is starting to become rather old-fashioned. 这词已开始有些过时了。
Patterns
expensive/costly/overpriced/pricey for sb/sthexpensive/costly to do sth very/too/fairly/quite/pretty expensive/costly/pricey