7 N‑SING The cost of something is the loss, damage, or injury that is involved in trying to achieve it. □ [+ of ] In March Mr Salinas shut down the city's oil refinery at a cost of $500 million and 5,000 jobs. □ [+ to ] He had to protect his family, whatever the cost to himself.
8 VERB If an event or mistake costs you something, you lose that thing as the result of it. □ [V n n] …a six-year-old boy whose life was saved by an operation that cost him his sight. □ [V n] The increase will hurt small business and cost many thousands of jobs.
9 PHRASE If you say that something must be avoided at all costs , you are emphasizing that it must not be allowed to happen under any circumstances. [EMPHASIS ] □ They told him a disastrous world trade war must be avoided at all costs.
10 PHRASE If you say that something must be done at any cost , you are emphasizing that it must be done, even if this requires a lot of effort or money. [EMPHASIS ] □ This book is of such importance that it must be published at any cost.
11 PHRASE If you say that something costs money , you mean that it has to be paid for, and perhaps cannot be afforded. □ Well-designed clothes cost money.
12 PHRASE If you know something to your cost , you know it because of an unpleasant experience that you have had. □ Kathryn knows to her cost the effect of having served a jail sentence.
13 to cost someone dear → see dear
▸ cost out → see cost 4 SYNONYMS cost NOUN 1
price: …a sharp increase in the price of petrol.
worth: I went and bought about six dollars' worth of potato chips.
expense: He's bought a specially big TV at vast expense.
charge: We can arrange this for a small charge.
rate: …specially reduced rates for travellers using Gatwick Airport.
co st ac|count|ing N‑UNCOUNT Cost accounting is the recording and analysis of all the various costs of running a business. [BUSINESS ]
co -star (co-stars , co-starring , co-starred ) in AM, also use costar 1 N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] An actor's or actress's co-stars are the other actors or actresses who also have one of the main parts in a particular film. □ He now lives in Berlin with his co-star from the film.
2 VERB If an actor or actress co-stars with another actor or actress, the two of them have the main parts in a particular film. □ [V + with ] This fall she co-stars in a film with the acclaimed British actor Kenneth Branagh. □ [V + in ] They co-starred in a television version of EM Forster's A Room with a View. □ [V + in ] She revealed the pair were to co-star in an action movie.
3 VERB If a film co-stars particular actors, they have the main parts in it. □ [V n] The film co-stars Dame Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
co st-effe ctive ADJ Something that is cost-effective saves or makes a lot of money in comparison with the costs involved. □ The bank must be run in a cost-effective way. ● cost-effectively ADV [ADV after v] □ The management tries to produce the magazine as cost-effectively as possible. ● cost-effectiveness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] A Home Office report has raised doubts about the cost-effectiveness of the proposals.
cost|ing /kɒ st I ŋ, [AM ] kɔː st-/ (costings ) N‑VAR A costing is an estimate of all the costs involved in a project or a business venture. [mainly BRIT , BUSINESS ] □ We'll put together a proposal, including detailed costings, free of charge. in AM, use costs
cost|ly /kɒ stli, [AM ] kɔː st-/ (costlier , costliest )
1 ADJ If you say that something is costly , you mean that it costs a lot of money, often more than you would want to pay. □ Having professionally-made curtains can be costly, so why not make your own?
2 ADJ If you describe someone's action or mistake as costly , you mean that it results in a serious disadvantage for them, for example the loss of a large amount of money or the loss of their reputation. □ Psychometric tests can save organizations from grim and costly mistakes.
co st of li v|ing N‑SING The cost of living is the average amount of money that people in a particular place need in order to be able to afford basic food, housing, and clothing. □ Companies are moving jobs to towns with a lower cost of living.
co st-plu s ADJ [ADJ n] A cost-plus basis for a contract about work to be done is one in which the buyer agrees to pay the seller or contractor all the cost plus a profit. □ All vessels were to be built on a cost-plus basis.
co st pri ce (cost prices ) N‑VAR [oft at N ] If something is sold at cost price , it is sold for the same price as it cost the seller to buy it. [BRIT ] □ …a factory shop where you can buy very fashionable shoes at cost price.
cos|tume /kɒ stjuːm, [AM ] -tuːm/ (costumes )
1 N‑VAR An actor's or performer's costume is the set of clothes they wear while they are performing. □ Even from a distance the effect of his fox costume was stunning. □ The performers, in costume and make-up, were walking up and down backstage. □ In all, she has eight costume changes.
2 N‑UNCOUNT The clothes worn by people at a particular time in history, or in a particular country, are referred to as a particular type of costume . □ …men and women in eighteenth-century costume.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] A costume play or drama is one which is set in the past and in which the actors wear the type of clothes that were worn in that period. □ …a lavish costume drama set in Ireland and the U.S. in the 1890s.