First Known Use: 13th century
Dictionary
1precious
adjective pre·cious \ˈpre-shəs\
: rare and worth a lot of money
: very valuable or important : too valuable or important to be wasted or used carelessly
: greatly loved, valued, or important
Full Definition of PRECIOUS
1
: of great value or high price <precious jewels>
2
: highly esteemed or cherished <a precious friend>
See precious defined for English-language learners
See precious defined for kids
ADVERTISEMENT
Examples of PRECIOUS
- That so many of China's cleverest and most creative men and women had to sell their books and their most precious carvings and family seals to keep themselves alive, while corpulent nationalists and their friends dined well in local banquet halls, gave them some right to schadenfreude. —Simon Winchester, The Man Who Loved China, 2008
- Of course, the war pronounces on us all. Some precious glee we seek is absent, the season less substantial, less likeable. —Richard Ford, Wall Street Journal, 14-15 June 2008
- The world is, as usual, a frightening place to enter for all save the precious few impaired by inherited security. —David Mamet, True and False, 1997
- … and, though to him those precious moments at the end of each day had symbolized the realization of his every hope, to her they had meant not a goddamn thing. —Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
- [+]more
Origin of PRECIOUS
Middle English, from Anglo-French precios, from Latin pretiosus, from pretium price — more at price
Related to PRECIOUS
- Synonyms
- big-ticket, dear, expensive, extravagant, high, high-end, high-ticket, costly, premium, priceless, pricey (also pricy), spendy [chiefly Northwest], ultraexpensive, valuable
- Antonyms
- cheap, inexpensive
2precious
adverb pre·cious \ˈpre-shəs\
: very or extremely
Full Definition of PRECIOUS
See precious defined for English-language learners
Origin of PRECIOUS
(see 1precious)
First Known Use: 1595
PRECIOUS Defined for Kids
precious
adjective pre·cious \ˈpre-shəs\
Definition of PRECIOUS for Kids
1
: very valuable <Diamonds and emeralds are precious stones.>
2
: greatly loved or valued <a precious friend> <precious memories>
Learn More About PRECIOUS
Browse
Next Word in the Dictionary: precious coralPrevious Word in the Dictionary: preciosityAll Words Near: precious
ADVERTISEMENT
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up precious? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).