What does valuable mean?
Valuable describes something that is worth a considerable amount of money, usefulness, or importance. The adjective is especially common for objects, information, time, advice, and resources that are highly useful or difficult to replace. A valuable item is not necessarily expensive; the word can emphasize practical worth, significance, or the care with which something is regarded. As a noun, a valuable is an item of substantial worth, and the plural valuables often refers collectively to possessions worth protecting. In everyday use, valuable carries a generally positive sense, suggesting both importance and desirability. It can also sound formal when discussing assets or possessions, while expressions such as valuable information and valuable advice are common in professional and educational contexts. The word derives ultimately from the Latin verb valere, “to be worth,” which connects its financial sense with the broader idea of worth or usefulness.
Having a high monetary worth, or being extremely useful, important, or beneficial.
"The archive contains valuable documents that are rarely available elsewhere."
The word is often used before information, advice, time, resources, and evidence, where it emphasizes usefulness or importance rather than price alone.
An item of considerable monetary, practical, or sentimental worth.
"The museum displayed several valuable objects from the collection."
The plural form valuables is often used to refer collectively to important or easily stolen possessions.
The plural is commonly used to refer collectively to possessions of significant monetary or sentimental value.
"The burglar took jewelry, electronics, and other valuables from the house."
Valuable traces its roots to the Latin valere, meaning “to be worth,” a reminder that what we value is what has worth to us.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does valuable come from?
The word entered English from Anglo-French during the late Middle English period, ultimately deriving from Latin valere, “to be worth,” and the related Latin noun valor, “worth” or “value.” Its original sense was financial, but English gradually extended the adjective to mean useful, important, or highly regarded. Related words such as value, evaluate, valuation, and valid reflect the same Latin root and the shared idea of worth or strength.
Related word forms
How valuable is actually used
As an adjective, valuable can indicate either high financial worth or great usefulness or importance. As a plural noun, valuables is commonly used for possessions of significant monetary or sentimental value, often in a somewhat formal context.
Easily confused with valuable
A valuable thing is intrinsically worth a great deal, whereas a valued thing may be important or highly regarded even if it is not especially expensive.