costly
adjective
cost·ly
ˈkȯs(t)-lē 
costlier; costliest
2
: made or done at heavy expense or sacrifice
a costly mistake
costliness
noun
Examples of costly in a Sentence
We use less costly materials in our products.
It was too costly to fix her car after the accident, so she decided to buy a new car instead.
They won the game, but their best player was injured, so it was a costly victory.
The decision to wait could be a costly mistake.
Recent Examples on the Web
The fine issued to Mostafavi is the most costly penalty issued to an attorney by a California state court and one of the highest fines ever issued over attorney use of AI, according to Damien Charlotin, who teaches a class on AI and the law at a business school in Paris.
—
Calmatters, Mercury News, 22 Sep. 2025
Multiple challenges await the Navy vet Williams will be tasked with addressing the NNSA's decades-long struggle to secure adequate talent to oversee its costly infrastructure projects and nuclear warhead programs.
—Davis Winkie, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
One play can inform how players handle another, and Talanoa Hufanga ended up with a costly penalty because of it.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
The engine runs on regular unleaded gasoline, eliminating the need for costly aviation fuel.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for costly
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Calmatters, Mercury News, 22 Sep. 2025
Multiple challenges await the Navy vet Williams will be tasked with addressing the NNSA's decades-long struggle to secure adequate talent to oversee its costly infrastructure projects and nuclear warhead programs.
—Davis Winkie, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
One play can inform how players handle another, and Talanoa Hufanga ended up with a costly penalty because of it.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
The engine runs on regular unleaded gasoline, eliminating the need for costly aviation fuel.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for costly
Cite this Entry
“Costly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/costly. Accessed 26 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
costly
adjective
cost·ly
ˈkȯs(t)-lē
costlier; costliest
1
: of great cost or value
costly furs
2
: gained at great expense or sacrifice
a costly victory
costliness
noun
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