Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
cosmopolis
cosmopolitan
cosmopolite
cosmos (1)
cosmos (2)
Cossack
cosset
cossie
cost
cost accountant
cost accounting
cost-benefit analysis
cost center
cost-cutting
cost-effective
cost effectiveness principle
cost function
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "cost" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

cost

cost [ kawst ]


verb  (past and past participle cost, present participle cost·ing, 3rd person present singular costs)
Definition:
 
1. transitive verb have particular price: to require the payment of a particular sum

2. transitive and intransitive verb be expensive: to require payment of a large sum of money by somebody ( informal )

3. transitive verb cause loss of something: to cause somebody or something to lose, sacrifice, or suffer something

4.  (past and past participle cost·ed) transitive verb calculate money required for something: to calculate the price or expense of something



noun  (plural costs)
Definition:
 
1. amount paid for something: the amount of money required to be paid for something

2. money spent doing something: the amount of money spent in producing or doing something

3. loss or effort: the loss, sacrifice, suffering, or effort involved in doing something

4. 
Same as  cost price




plural noun costs 
Definition:
 
1. legal expenses: the amount of money that is spent pursuing a legal action, especially those expenses that a losing party may be required to pay

2. total sum of money: the calculated amount of money needed for something
housing costs

[14th century. Via Old French co(u)ster< Latin constare "stand firm" < stare "to stand"]

cost·less adjective
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
MSN Shopping
Encarta RSS Feeds
© 2008 Microsoft