worth

Use the word “worth” when estimating the value of something. The price or the value may change, depending on the circumstances. 

  • This car is worth a few thousand dollars. A few years ago, it was worth much more. 
  • What do you think this old, antique chair is worth? 
  • I think this guitar is worth a lot of money. 
  • An investment in your education is definitely worth it. 
  • It’s not worth it to take risks while driving. 

worth

a. worth = value

Perhaps the most common use of “worth” is as a preposition. Following “worth” is some kind of an amount. 

  • This old table is worth $200. (It’s valued at $200.) 
  • Gold is worth over $3000 an ounce. 
  • That painting is worth a lot of money. 
  • This is not worth anything. 
  • Do you know what this is worth? 
  • We bought $20 worth of tomatoes at the farmers’ market.  
  • I bought only ten dollars worth of gas for my car. 

In these sentences, “worth” is a noun. 

  • What’s the worth of the house? 
  • The worth of the land keeps increasing. 

a. worth = value

man in black shirt sitting on chair near white wooden house during daytime
  • What is this house worth? 
  • The real estate agents says the house is worth about $340,000. 
g887194cd2c7a32a8742398e201aaccce48f7640116ad05909d28af071238281a4008a024c34fb7d67e2e5f9fb545a74b_1280-788747.jpg
  • This old car is worth a lot of money. 
  • It might be worth over $50,000. 

b. worth = deserving of

An experience, an amount of time, or a personal interest in something important deserves a person’s attention and is worth it. 

  • What is it worth to you to have time off to spend with your family. 
  • She has to travel to California as part of her job. Is it worth it? 
  • This job is not worth my time. 
  • Is it worth waiting in an hour-long line to get something on sale? 
  • This movie is not worth all the attention it gets.  
  • Don’t worry about what that guy said. He’s not worth worrying about. 
  • This is not worth it. 

b. worth = deserving of

baby in white and blue crew neck shirt
  • It is worth whatever investments are necessary to save the life of a child. 
A man smiling while working at an office desk with a computer and natural daylight streaming in through large windows.
  • Is it worth spending so much time at work? 

c. worthless

As an adjective, the word “worthless” means that something has no value. 

  • This old book used to be worth a lot of money, but now because it’s old and moldy, it’s almost worthless. 
  • The man’s contribution to the conversation was virtually worthless. 
  • This agreement is worthless.  
  • This is worthless. 
  • The guy we hired to do the job is very incompetent. He’s absolutely worthless. 

c. worthless

woman in black long sleeve shirt
  • She feels totally worthless at work. She doesn’t have very much work to do. 
A person holding a camera up to take a picture
  • This camera is worthless without a proper battery and SD card. 

d. expressions

The word “worth” appears in the following  popular expressions: 

  • This has been worth the wait. (It took a long time to get, but the benefit outweighs the time spent waiting.) 
  • It’s worth a shot. (This is a good risk.) 
  • The machine is so useful, it’s worth its weight in gold. (It’s very useful and valuable.) 
  • That’s my opinion–for what it’s worth. (You may or may not value my opinion.) 
  • Is this really worth the risk? (Based on the potential negative outcome, Is this a good decision?) 
  • That house must be worth a fortune. (worth a fortune = a lot of money) 

Click here for more prepositions.   /    Click here to go to the vocabulary section.