Worth Definition

wûrth

worths

noun

worths

The quality that renders something desirable, useful, or valuable.

The worth of higher education.

American Heritage

Material value, esp. as expressed in terms of money or some other medium of exchange.

Webster's New World

The amount or quantity of something that may be had for a given sum.

A dollar's worth of nuts.

Webster's New World

That quality of a person or thing that lends importance, value, merit, etc. and that is measurable by the esteem in which the person or thing is held.

Webster's New World

Wealth; possessions; riches.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Antonyms:
worthlessness

adjective

Equal in value to something specified.

Worth its weight in gold.

American Heritage

Deserving of; meriting.

A proposal not worth consideration.

American Heritage

Having wealth or riches amounting to.

A person worth millions.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

verb

worths

To befall; betide.

American Heritage

To become.

Woe worth the day.

Webster's New World

14th century, Pearl poet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Corsed worth cowarddyse and couetyse boþe! [i.e. Cursed be cowardice and covetousness both]

Wiktionary

Woe worth the man that crosses me.

Wiktionary

preposition

Deserving or worthy of; meriting.

Not worth the effort.

Webster's New World

Equal in worth or value to.

A book that is worth $50

Webster's New World

Having wealth or possessions amounting to.

A man worth half a million.

Webster's New World

Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.

This job is hardly worth the effort.

Wiktionary

idiom

for all (one) is worth

To the utmost of one's powers or ability.

American Heritage

for what it's worth

Even though it may not be important or valuable:
Here's my advice, for what it's worth.

American Heritage

for all someone is worth

to the extent of someone's power or ability; to the utmost

Webster's New World

for what it is worth

phrase used to introduce a fact, proposal, etc. regarded as potentially, but not necessarily, relevant, valid, or significant

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Worth

Noun

Singular:

worth

Plural:

worths

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Worth

for all (one) is worth
for what it's worth
for all someone is worth
for what it is worth

Origin of Worth

From worth or wurth, from Old English weorþ, from Proto-Germanic *werþaz (“towards, opposite") (the noun developing from the adjective). Cognate with German wert/Wert, Dutch waard (“adjective"), Swedish värd.

From Wiktionary
From Old English weorþan, from Proto-Germanic *werþanÄ…, from Proto-Indo-European *wert-. Cognate with Dutch worden, German werden, Old Norse verða (Norwegian verta, Swedish varda), Latin vertere.

From Wiktionary
Middle English worthen from Old English weorthan wer-² in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Middle English from Old English weorth wer-² in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition