Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cost dear

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.64 in modern English

Syllables: cost dear
IPA

11

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To be expensive.

verb

To cause a lot of pain or suffering.

Example Sentences

"Those extra nights tacked onto his hotel stay will cost him dear."
"It will cost him dear to tack additional nights onto his hotel stay."
"His intransigence will cost him dear in the end."
"It will cost him dear to be so intransigent for so long."

Inflected Forms

costs dear (present, singular) costing dear (participle, present) cost dearly (alternative)

Phrases

opportunity cost sticker shock

Frequently Paired Words

opportunity cost sticker shock

Synonyms

cost an arm and a leg cost a pretty penny

Questions

What does cost dear mean?: To be expensive.

How to pronounce cost dear

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cost dear”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cost dear”.
Repeat and practice — Say “cost dear” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.