cost
cost — 名詞
1. the money that people pay when buying a product, using a service, or having work
價格；費用
購買商品或服務所需支付的金額
the money that people pay when buying a product, using a service, or having work carried out.
The cost of a monthly train pass in Taipei has risen again this year.
今年台北的月票價格又調漲了。
cost + of + noun phrase for specifying what
Lan checked the total cost before adding the items to her online basket.
Lan 在將商品加入線上購物車之前，先確認了總金額。
total cost as a common collocation
Rising food costs are forcing many families to change their weekly shopping habits.
食品價格不斷上漲，迫使許多家庭改變每週的採購習慣。
The cost of building a new school includes materials, labour, and permits.
建造一所新學校的費用包括建材、人工和許可證。
文法句型
cost + of + noun phrase
the cost of [doing something]
用法筆記
Often used with 'the cost of + noun/-ing' to specify what the money is for. When talking about general prices for everyday items, 'price' is more common than 'cost'.
常見錯誤
2. the money that a company or an organisation must spend on things such as materia
成本；開支
企業營運或法律程序所需的花費
the money that a company or an organisation must spend on things such as materials, wages, rent, or legal fees in order to operate.
The company needs to cut costs to stay competitive in the global market.
這家公司需要削減成本，才能在全球化市場中保持競爭力。
collocation: cut/reduce costs
Christopher calculated the shipping costs for the entire project before submitting the budget.
Christopher 在提交預算之前，先計算了整個專案的運費。
shipping costs as a noun-noun collocation
Legal costs in the lawsuit went far beyond what the firm had expected.
這場訴訟的法律費用遠超出事務所原本的預期。
Operating costs include rent, electricity, and employee salaries.
營運成本包括租金、電費和員工薪資。
- expenses
broader term covering all money spent; used in both business and personal contexts
- overheads
fixed ongoing costs of running a business (rent, utilities), not project-based
- outlay
more formal; often refers to a one-time spending to start something
- spending
general term; less specific to business accounting
文法句型
costs + of + noun phrase
cut/reduce costs
用法筆記
Typically appears in plural form (costs) when referring to ongoing business expenses. The singular form may refer to a single legal or project expense.
常見錯誤
3. something important — such as time, health, a relationship, or a life — that peo
代價；犧牲
為了達成目標而失去的事物
something important — such as time, health, a relationship, or a life — that people surrender so they can reach a particular goal.
Antonia built a successful business, but at the cost of her health and personal relationships.
Antonia 的事業雖然成功，卻是以健康和感情生活為代價。
phrase: at the cost of + sacrificed thing
The army captured the city at a terrible cost in human lives.
軍隊攻佔了這座城市，卻犧牲了無數士兵的性命。
Emre decided to help his friend move house, even at the cost of his own weekend.
Emre 決定幫朋友搬家，即使犧牲自己的週末也在所不惜。
The environmental cost of cheap manufacturing is often ignored by shoppers looking for low prices.
廉價製造對環境造成的代價，往往被追求低價的消費者所忽略。
文法句型
at the cost of + noun phrase
at + possessive + cost
用法筆記
Frequently appears in the fixed phrases 'at the cost of [something]' or 'at [possessive] cost'. Distinguish from sense 1 — here the sacrifice is not money but something more abstract.
常見錯誤
4. a difficult or painful experience that teaches someone a lesson they will not fo
吃虧
透過痛苦經驗才明白的道理
a difficult or painful experience that teaches someone a lesson they will not forget; used only in the fixed expression 'to one's cost'.
Stefan learned to his cost that verbal agreements are useless when one party decides to break them.
Stefan 付出了代價後才學到，口頭協議在對方反悔時根本毫無用處。
fixed phrase: learn to one's cost
Many small business owners discover to their cost that customers do not always pay on time.
許多小企業主吃過虧才知道，客戶不見得會按時付款。
pattern: discover/find out to one's cost
Jude found out to his cost that buying the cheapest laptop only leads to expensive repairs later.
Jude 買了最便宜的筆電之後才發現，後續的維修費用更可觀。
The team knew to its cost that skipping safety checks was never worth the time saved.
整個團隊付出代價後才明白，省略安全檢查節省的時間根本不值得。
文法句型
to + possessive + cost
learn/find out/know to one's cost
用法筆記
This is not a standalone sense — the word 'cost' here can only appear as part of the fixed phrase 'to one's cost' (after verbs such as learn, discover, find out, or know). The phrase always means 'through an unpleasant personal experience.' Do not use 'cost' alone to mean 'a lesson learned from hardship.'
常見錯誤
cost — 動詞
1. to need a particular amount of money to be paid by a buyer — used to state the p
花費
某物需要支付多少錢才能獲得
to need a particular amount of money to be paid by a buyer — used to state the price of something, whether a single item, a service, or an activity.
The new phone costs around eight hundred dollars in most shops.
這款新手機在大多數商店的售價約為八百美元。
cost + amount of money (no passive)
How much does it cost to fly from Taipei to Tokyo during the holiday season?
從台北飛往東京的機票在假期期間要多少錢？
cost + to-infinitive for activities
These urgent repairs will cost you more than buying a brand-new machine.
這些緊急維修的花費，比買一台全新的機器還要高。
A ticket for the concert costs fifty dollars if you book at least two weeks ahead.
如果至少提前兩週訂票，這場演唱會的門票價格為五十美元。
- be priced at
more formal; often used in writing or signs rather than conversation
- go for
informal — 'The jacket went for $40 at the sale'
- sell for
focuses on the seller's activity rather than the buyer's payment
文法句型
cost + amount
cost + someone + amount
cost + amount + to-infinitive
用法筆記
This verb never takes the passive form ('X is cost $10'). The subject is always the thing being bought or done. The past tense and past participle are both 'cost' (not 'costed').
常見錯誤
❌ 'It costs $10 to buy a ticket' and 'A ticket costs $10' are both natural.
2. to calculate the total amount of money that will be needed for a project, a prod
估價
計算某專案或產品所需的費用
to calculate the total amount of money that will be needed for a project, a product, or a piece of work, especially in a business setting.
The builder is costing the materials for the kitchen renovation this week.
承包商本週正在估算廚房翻新所需的材料費用。
costing as a present participle in business context
We need to cost each option carefully before the board makes a final decision.
在董事會做出最終決定之前，我們必須仔細估算每個選項的成本。
The project was costed at roughly two million dollars by the consulting firm.
這項專案經顧問公司估算，總額約為兩百萬美元。
A professional accountant costed the entire proposal and found several errors in the estimates.
一位專業會計師對整個提案進行了成本估算，並發現報價中有幾處錯誤。
文法句型
cost + noun phrase
be costed at + amount
用法筆記
Unlike sense 1, this sense uses regular past forms: 'costed' (past tense and past participle). It is primarily used in British English business contexts; American English prefers 'estimate the cost' or 'price' as a verb.
常見錯誤
3. to make someone lose something important or valuable, such as a job, a relations
使人失去
導致某人失去有價值的事物
to make someone lose something important or valuable, such as a job, a relationship, an opportunity, or even their life, usually as a result of an action or event.
The careless mistake cost him his job and his reputation in the industry.
這個粗心的錯誤讓他失去了工作和業界的聲譽。
cost + someone + their + noun (job/reputation)
A single error in the financial report cost the company millions of dollars.
財務報告中的一個錯誤，讓公司損失了數百萬美元。
The storm cost the town its only bridge, cutting off access to the nearest hospital.
這場暴風雨摧毀了鎮上唯一的橋樑，導致通往最近醫院的路中斷。
Her honesty cost her a promotion at work, but she never regretted telling the truth.
她的誠實讓她錯過了升遷機會，但她從不後悔說出真相。
- lose
the subject is the person who suffers, not the cause — 'He lost his job' vs 'The scandal cost him his job'
- deprive
more formal; used with 'of' — 'The crisis deprived them of their savings'
- cause the loss of
longer and more explicit; used in formal writing
文法句型
cost + someone + something
cost + someone + their + noun
用法筆記
Takes two objects — the person affected and the thing lost — with no preposition between them. The past form is 'cost' (not 'costed'), matching sense 1.