Definition of PRECIOUS (original) (raw)
1
: of great value or high price
Synonyms
Examples of precious in a Sentence
Adjective
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
diamonds and other precious stones We can save precious time by taking this shortcut. They were able to be together for only a few precious hours. the family's most precious moments Adverb
She had precious little to say. There are precious few hours of sunlight left.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Bald eagles Jackie and Shadow have spent the past week incubating three precious eggs in their Southern California nest. —Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 4 Feb. 2025 Many had lost precious belongings or survival gear, keeping them in a cycle of hardship. —Asia Fields, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2025 This crazy thing called 'life' is so damn precious. —Kayla Grant, People.com, 3 Feb. 2025 Nope, the world was more precious — the world itself. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 31 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for precious 
Word History
Etymology
Adjective and Adverb
Middle English, from Anglo-French precios, from Latin pretiosus, from pretium price — more at price entry 1
First Known Use
Adjective
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adverb
1595, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of precious was in the 13th century
Dictionary Entries Near precious
Cite this Entry
“Precious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precious. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
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Last Updated: 8 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences
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