cost
part of speech
verb (cost, costs, cost, costing); noun (a cost, costs)
meaning for a pupil
1) To cost is to have a price: what you must pay to buy something. tree →
2) The cost is the price or the amount paid. tree →
3) To cost can mean to make you lose something: «Being late cost us the game». tree →
sense in the lessons
the price of one thing, or of all things bought: the cost of many = the number × the price of one; phrases: «costs N each», «the total cost», «how much does it cost», «at all costs» (no matter what)
examples
- Till an arrow strike through his liver; as a bird hasteneth to the snare — and knoweth not that it is at the cost of his life. (Writings PRO.7.23, JPS 1917) tree →
- And king David said to Ornan: 'Nay, but I will verily buy it for the full price; for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost.' (Writings 1CH.21.24, JPS 1917) tree →
- A pencil costs 3 cents. tree →
- Pencils cost 3 cents each. How much do 5 pencils cost? tree →
- The total cost is 24 cents. tree →
- How much does this book cost? tree →
- The tickets cost 8 dollars each. tree →
- The bike cost more than the scooter. tree →
- The cost of food went up this year. tree →
- One mistake cost us the match. tree →
- "Will it cost much, I wonder?" tree →
note
Past: cost (the same). The cost of many = the number × the price of one. Trap: if the total cost and the number are given, the price of one is total ÷ number. «How much» is used with money, not «how many».
In the corpora
- Living in a home costs money every single month, even when nobody buys anything new.
- Hot water costs energy to heat, so long showers cost money and leave less for the next person.
- Own-brand food is often made in a similar way to famous brands but costs less because there is no big advertising.
- Big building jobs often take longer and cost more than planned.
- Each streaming service costs money every month and has different shows; families choose which ones are worth paying for.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «cost» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.