worth

Everyday

1. Worth tells how much money something could be sold for: «a dime is worth 10 cents». tree →
2. «Worth it» or «worth doing» means good enough to spend the time, money or effort. tree →
3. A person's worth is how valuable or important they are. tree →
4. «10 dollars' worth of» means as much as 10 dollars buys. tree →

In the lessons

In school maths: value in money; coins worth some cents; total = number × worth of one; «30 dollars' worth of food» is money spent. In everyday life: «Is it worth it?», «worth a try», «worth a visit», a card collection worth a lot. Phrases: «worth it», «worth a try», «worthwhile», «a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush».

Examples

• A dime is worth 10 cents. tree →
• The house is worth 200,000 dollars. tree →
• How much are 5 coins worth? tree →
• She bought 30 dollars' worth of food. tree →
• The long walk was worth it for the view. tree →
• The museum is worth a visit. tree →
• It is worth checking your answer again. tree →
• Each gold star is worth 2 points. tree →
• It is quite worth while trying.’ tree →

Note

«Worth» is followed by an amount or a «-ing» verb: «worth 5 dollars», «worth seeing». A dime is 10 cents; a quarter is 25 cents. Maths: gives a value per item: total = number × worth of one. «30 dollars' worth» is an amount of money spent.

In Jewish tradition

In the Torah it means the money value of something, such as land, or the value a priest sets on a person or a field promised to God.

Interpretation. The valuations in Leviticus 27 show that a vow to God could be paid in money. Abraham's purchase of a burial field, whose worth was four hundred shekels, is seen as a model of honest buying of land in Israel.

Examples

• 'My lord, hearken unto me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.' (Torah GEN.23.15, JPS 1917) tree →
• then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy valuation unto the year of jubilee; and he shall give thy valuation in that day, as a holy thing unto the LORD. (Torah LEV.27.23, JPS 1917) tree →
• Be this as it may, it is worth while to know the extravagant hypotheses which ancient Jewish philosophers and theologians framed as soon as they began to contemplate and to reason, endeavoring to combine oriental and Greek theories. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
• The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is little worth. (Writings PRO.10.20, JPS 1917) tree →
• 'Son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Wail ye: Woe worth the day! (Prophets EZK.30.2, JPS 1917) tree →
• And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth? (Writings JOB.24.25, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

«Worth» is followed by an amount or a «-ing» verb: «worth 5 dollars», «worth seeing». A dime is 10 cents; a quarter is 25 cents. Maths: gives a value per item: total = number × worth of one. «30 dollars' worth» is an amount of money spent.