1
general::
verb ADV. fully, properly The project has not been properly costed yet. PREP. at The programme was costed at £6 million., noun money needed to buy sth ADJ. considerable, enormous, great, high, huge, prohibitive The high cost of energy was a problem for consumers. The cost of repairs would be prohibitive. | low | escalating, rising | basic | full, overall, total You will have to bear the full cost of the building work. | additional, extra She was unwilling to pay the extra cost to get a room to herself. | average A total of 3.6 million tickets at an average cost of $58 are available for the Games. | gross, net | estimated | budgeted | likely, potential | real | annual, monthly, etc. | replacement What is the current replacement cost of these assets? | capital, start-up (business) The capital cost of these projects (= what it costs to set them up) is some $100 million?then there'll be the operating costs. | marginal (business) Competition will drive the price down near to the marginal cost (= the cost of the labour and materials to produce the product). | unit (business) (= the cost of producing one item) | fixed, variable (business) Fixed costs include rent. | direct, indirect VERB + COST bear, cover, meet, pay Allow £15 per day to cover the cost of meals. MPs receive allowances to meet the cost of travel. | increase, push up Inflation is pushing up the cost of living beyond our reach. | bring down, cut, lower, reduce | keep down | estimate, put I would put the cost of a new employee at £30,000 a year. | calculate, work out | reimburse COST + VERB escalate, go up, increase, rise The cost of dental treatment is increasing. | fall, go down COST + NOUN reduction, savings the pursuit of cost reduction | overrun There were cost overruns on each project. | base It is essential that we operate with the lowest possible cost base and most efficient facilities. PREP. at a ~ of A new computer system has been installed at a cost of £80,000. | ~ to The cost to the government will be quite high. PHRASES an increase/a reduction in cost, at no extra cost The hotel offers tea and coffee at no extra cost. | cost of living The cost of living has risen sharply in the last year. costs: money needed to run a business/home, etc. ADJ. considerable, enormous, great, high, huge | low | escalating, rising We have had to raise our prices because of rising costs. | administration/administrative, fuel, labour, operating, production, (research and) development, running, transport, travel VERB + COST incur The corporation will pay all costs and expenses incurred with its written consent. | pay | increase | bring down, cut, lower, reduce The company has to find ways of cutting costs. | keep down The use of cheap labour helped to keep costs down. | cover We're hoping that we'll at least cover costs at the conference. COST + VERB be associated, be involved the costs associated with buying and selling property | escalate, rise effort/loss/damage to achieve sth ADJ. considerable, enormous, great, heavy, huge They advanced a few hundred metres, but at a heavy cost in life. | dreadful, terrible the terrible cost of the war in death and suffering | real | environmental, financial, human, personal, political, social the environmental cost of nuclear power VERB + COST outweigh Do the benefits outweigh the costs? | count The town is now counting the cost of its failure to provide adequate flood protection. PREP. at (a) ~ (to) The raid was foiled, but at a cost: an injured officer who was lucky to escape with his life. He worked non-stop for three months, at considerable cost to his health. | at the ~ of She saved him from the fire but at the cost of her own life. | ~ in I felt a need to please people, whatever the cost in time and energy. PHRASES at all costs/at any cost You must stop the press finding out at all costs (= whatever it takes to achieve this). | to your cost He's a ruthless businessman, as I know to my cost (= I know from my own bad experience). costs: in a court case ADJ. legal VERB + COST incur Both sides incurred costs of over £50,000. | pay He was fined £200 and ordered to pay costs. | be awarded If you win your case you will normally be awarded costs.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
2
general::
cost
the amount of money you need to buy or do something. Cost is usually used when talking in a general way about whether something is expensive or cheap rather than when talking about exact prices:
• The cost of running a car is increasing. • the cost of raw materials
price
the amount of money you must pay for something that is for sale:
• They sell good-quality clothes at reasonable prices. • the price of a plane ticket to New York
value
the amount of money that something is worth:
• A new kitchen can increase the value of your home.
charge
the amount that you have to pay for a service or to use something:
• Hotel guests may use the gym for a small charge. • bank charges
fee
the amount you have to pay to enter a place or join a group, or for the services of a professional person such as a lawyer or a doctor:
• There is no entrance fee. • The membership fee is £125 a year. • legal fees
fare
the amount you have to pay to travel somewhere by bus, plane, train etc:
• I didn’t even have enough money for my bus fare. • fare increases
rent
the amount you have to pay to live in or use a place that you do not own:
• The rent on his apartment is $800 a month.
rate
a charge that is set according to a standard scale:
• Most TV stations offer special rates to local advertisers.
toll
the amount you have to pay to travel on some roads or bridges:
• You have to pay tolls on many French motorways., cost
to have a particular price:
• The book costs $25. • A new kitchen will cost you a lot of money. • It’s a nice dress and it didn’t cost much.
be
especially spoken to cost a particular amount of money:
• These shoes were only £5.
be priced at something
to have a particular price – used when giving the exact price that a shop or company charges for something:
• Tickets are priced at $20 for adults and $10 for kids.
retail at something
to be sold in shops at a particular price – used especially in business:
• The scissors retail at £1.99 in department stores.
sell/go for something
used for saying what people usually pay for something:
• Houses in this area sell for around £200,000.
fetch
used for saying what people pay for something, especially at a public sale:
• The painting fetched over $8,000 at auction. • A sports car built for Mussolini is expected to fetch nearly £1 million at auction.
set somebody back something
informal to cost someone a lot of money:
• A good set of speakers will set you back around £150.
come to
if a bill comes to a particular amount, it adds up to that amount:
• The bill came to £100 between four of us.
Longman-Thesaurus
4
general::
cost
verbs
pay the cost of something
• I’m not sure how I’m going to pay the cost of going to college.
cover the cost
(= pay for something )
• The money he had saved just covered the cost of the trip.
meet/bear the cost of something
(= pay for something, especially with difficulty )
• His family were unable to meet the cost of his operation.
afford the cost of something
• We can’t afford the cost of a holiday abroad this year.
reduce/lower/bring down the cost
• If you go later in the year, it will bring down the cost of your holiday.
cut the cost
(= reduce it )
• The government has promised to cut the cost of medical care.
increase/push up the cost
• The new tax will increase the cost of owning a car.
the cost rises/goes up
• The cost of electricity has risen again.
the cost falls/goes down
• Airline costs have fallen considerably.
adjectives
high/low
• the high cost of fuel
the average cost
• What’s the average cost of a wedding in the UK?
an extra/additional cost
• At the campsite, many activities are available at no extra cost.
the full/total cost
• Experts are still assessing the full cost of the disaster.
the estimated cost
(= one that is guessed and may not be exact )
• The estimated cost was in the region of £3,000.
the annual/monthly cost
• This figure represents the annual cost of a loan.
labour/production/transport etc costs
• They had to pay £30,000 in legal costs.
running/operating costs
(= the amount it costs to run a business, a machine etc )
• The new technology is cheaper and the running costs are lower.
borrowing costs
(= the amount it costs to borrow money from a bank )
• Interest rates and borrowing costs are likely to be higher next year.
phrases
the cost of living
(= the amount you need to pay for food, clothes etc )
• People are complaining about the rising cost of living.
cost a lot
• Their hair products are really good but they cost a lot.
not cost much
• Second hand clothes don’t cost much.
cost something per minute/hour/year etc
• Calls cost only 2p per minute.
cost something per person
• There’s a one-day course that costs £80 per person.
cost something per head
(= per person )
• The meal will cost about £20 per head.
not cost (somebody) a penny
(= cost nothing )
• Using the Internet, you can make phone calls that don’t cost a penny.
cost a fortune/cost the earth
(= have a very high price )
• If you use a lawyer, it will cost you a fortune.
cost a bomb/a packet
British English (= have a very high price )
• He has a new sports car that must have cost a bomb.
cost an arm and a leg
(= have a price that is much too high )
• A skiing holiday needn’t cost you an arm and a leg.
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