kosti
C2Formal, Informal, Technical (Economics/Business)
Definition
Meaning
The price paid or required to acquire, produce, or maintain something; to require a specified payment or sacrifice.
To cause the loss or expenditure of a resource (time, effort, life, opportunity); the negative consequences or penalty of an action; to estimate or determine the price of something.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
"Cost" functions primarily as a noun and a verb. The noun often refers to the monetary or resource expenditure, while the verb can denote both the act of having a price and the act of calculating that price. It has strong negative connotations when used to describe loss (e.g., cost him his job).
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal. Spelling is identical. Usage in financial contexts is nearly identical. Slight preference for 'costed' as the past tense of the verb meaning 'to estimate a price' in UK English, whereas US English may use 'cost' more frequently in that specific sense.
Connotations
Identical. Both varieties carry the same primary and extended meanings.
Frequency
Equally high frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[S] cost [IO] [DO] (It cost me fifty pounds)[S] cost [DO] (The mistake cost his life)to cost [DO] out (phrasal verb: to calculate costs)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “at all costs”
- “to cost an arm and a leg”
- “count the cost”
- “at cost price”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Primary term for financial outlays, budgeting, and pricing strategy. E.g., 'We need to reduce our operating costs.'
Academic
Used in economics, engineering, and social sciences to discuss trade-offs, opportunity costs, and resource allocation.
Everyday
Commonly used when shopping, discussing bills, or describing negative consequences. E.g., 'How much did that cost?'
Technical
In project management and accounting: 'fixed costs', 'variable costs', 'sunk costs'. In engineering: 'cost-benefit analysis'.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The new software licence will cost the department nearly £5,000 per year.
- We need to cost out the proposals before the meeting.
- His impulsive decision cost him his place on the team.
American English
- How much does it cost to repair a transmission?
- The contractor costed the project at $2 million.
- The error cost the company its biggest client.
adverb
British English
- This model is comparably costed.
- They are producing the goods more cost-efficiently.
American English
- The product is priced cost-competitively.
- We need to operate more cost-consciously.
adjective
British English
- We're looking for a more cost-effective solution.
- The cost-neutral proposal was approved.
American English
- They offer a low-cost alternative to brand-name drugs.
- The cost-benefit analysis clearly favored the upgrade.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- This book costs ten euros.
- What is the cost of a ticket?
- The mistake cost him a point in the game.
- The total cost of the holiday was more than we expected.
- We must consider the environmental cost of plastic.
- I'll cost the ingredients for the cake.
- The new policy was implemented, but at the cost of employee morale.
- We need to cut costs without sacrificing quality.
- The company costed the project meticulously before bidding.
- The opportunity cost of spending a year travelling is your foregone salary.
- The human cost of the conflict was immeasurable.
- He argued that the reputational damage was a sunk cost that should not influence future decisions.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a COSTume shop. Every COSTume has a price tag (COST). Wearing the wrong one to a party might COST you some embarrassment.
Conceptual Metaphor
ACTIONS ARE TRANSACTIONS (His crime cost him his freedom). RESOURCES ARE MONEY (The project cost us three months of work).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'стои́ть' only in the price sense. 'It costs' for non-monetary losses (стои́ть жизни) is correct, but 'cost' as a noun meaning 'price' is 'сто́имость', not 'цена' in abstract economic contexts.
- Avoid using 'price' as a direct synonym for 'cost' in accounting (себестоимость = cost price).
- The past tense 'cost' is often the same as present for the price sense, which differs from Russian conjugation patterns.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect past tense: 'It costed me £10' (for the price sense; correct is 'It cost me £10'). 'Costed' is only correct for the meaning 'estimated the price of'.
- Article use: 'at cost' vs. 'at a cost'. 'We sold it at cost' (for the price we paid). 'It was achieved at a cost' (with negative consequences).
- Confusing 'cost' and 'price'. Price is what is charged; cost is what is paid/incurred.
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is the past tense of the verb 'cost' used correctly?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but only when 'cost' is used as a verb meaning 'to estimate or determine the price of something'. For example, 'The project manager costed the materials.' For all other meanings (having a price, causing a loss), the past tense is 'cost'.
'Price' is the amount of money asked for a good or service (the seller's perspective). 'Cost' is the amount paid or expended to acquire, produce, or maintain it (the buyer's/payer's perspective). A shop's selling price is your cost.
It means selling something for the same amount it cost to produce or acquire it, without making a profit. E.g., 'The charity sold the t-shirts at cost.'
Absolutely. It is commonly used for time, effort, lives, opportunities, and other abstract losses. E.g., 'The victory cost many lives,' or 'Procrastination cost him his degree.'