costing or worth little or no money

worthless

worth·less [worthless worthlessness]   [ˈwɜːθləs]    [ˈwɜːrθləs]  adjective
1. having no practical or financial value
• Critics say his paintings are worthless.

Opp:  valuable

2. (of a person) having no good qualities or useful skills
• a worthless individual
• Constant rejections made him feel worthless.
Derived Word: worthlessness  
Example Bank:
• The diseased plants are worthless to the farmer.
• The opinion polls were dismissed as worthless.
• These contradictions made his evidence worthless.
• Constant rejections made her feel worthless.
• He's just a worthless individual.

• Shares in the company are now almost worthless.

worth

worth [worth worths] adjective, noun   [wɜːθ]    [wɜːrθ] 

adjective not before noun (used like a preposition, followed by a noun, pronoun or number, or by the -ing form of a verb)
1. ~ sth having a value in money, etc
• Our house is worth about £100 000.
• How much is this painting worth?
• to be worth a bomb/packet/fortune (= a lot of money)
• It isn't worth much.

• If you answer this question correctly, it's worth five points.
2. used to recommend the action mentioned because you think it may be useful, enjoyable, etc.
• ~ sth The museum is certainly worth a visit.
• ~ doing sth This idea is well worth considering.

• It's worth making an appointment before you go.
3. ~ sth/doing sth important, good or enjoyable enough to make sb feel satisfied, especially when difficulty or effort is involved
• Was it worth the effort?
• The new house really wasn't worth all the expense involved.
• The job involves a lot of hard work but it's worth it.
• The trip was expensive but it was worth every penny.

see also  worthwhile

4. ~ sth (of a person) having money and possessions of a particular value
• He's worth £10 million.
more at a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush at  bird, more than your job's worth (to do sth) at  job  
Word Origin:
Old English w(e)orth (adjective and noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch waard and German wert.  
Synonyms:
price
cost • value • expense • worth
These words all refer to the amount of money that you have to pay for sth.
price • the amount of money that you have to pay for an item or service: ▪ house prices ◊ ▪ How much are these? They don't have a price on them. ◊ ▪ I can't afford it ▪ at that price ▪.
cost • the amount of money that you need in order to buy, make or do sth: ▪ A new computer system has been installed at a cost of £80 000.
value • how much sth is worth in money or other goods for which it can be exchanged: ▪ The winner will receive a prize ▪ to the value of ▪ £1 000.
Especially in British English, value can also mean how much sth is worth compared with its price: ▪ This restaurant is excellent value ▪ (= is worth the money it costs) ▪.
price, cost or value?
The price is what sb asks you to pay for an item or service: ▪ to ask/charge a high price ◊ to ask/charge a high cost/value. Obtaining or achieving sth may have a cost; the value of sth is how much other people would be willing to pay for it: ▪ house prices ◊ ▪ the cost of moving house ◊ ▪ The house now has a market value of one million pounds.
expense • the money that you spend on sth; sth that makes you spend money: ▪ The garden was transformed ▪ at great expense ▪. ◊ ▪ Running a car is a big expense.
worth • the financial value of sb/sth: ▪ He has a personal net worth of $10 million.
Worth is more often used to mean the practical or moral value of sth.
the high price/cost/value
the real/true price/cost/value/worth
to put/set a price/value on sth
to increase/reduce the price/cost/value/expense
to raise/double/lower the price/cost/value
to cut the price/cost 
Example Bank:
• It's so unimportant it's hardly worth mentioning.
• Most of the candidates were not considered worth interviewing.
• This book is well worth reading.
• This order is potentially worth millions of pounds to the company.
• It isn't worth much.
• Our house is worth about $300 000.
• to be worth a bomb/packet/fortune

Idioms: for all it is worth ▪ for what it's worth ▪ not worth the candle ▪ not worth the paper it's written on ▪ worth its salt ▪ worth its weight in gold ▪ worth somebody's while 

noun uncountable
1. ten dollars', £40, etc. ~ of sth an amount of sth that has the value mentioned
• The winner will receive ten pounds' worth of books.

• a dollar's worth of change

2. a week's, month's, etc. ~ of sth an amount of sth that lasts a week, etc.

3. the financial, practical or moral value of sb/sth
• Their contribution was of great worth.
• The activities help children to develop a sense of their own worth.
• A good interview enables candidates to prove their worth (= show how good they are).
• a personal net worth of $10 million
see put in your two cents' worth at  cent  _n., get your money's worth at  money  
Word Origin:
Old English w(e)orth (adjective and noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch waard and German wert.  
Example Bank:
• Asking for advice from people affirms their personal worth.
• Can you give me some estimate of its worth?
• Cutting out the debts will increase your net worth.
• He never contributed anything of worth to the conversation.
• I only found out its real worth when I tried to buy another one.
• She has no sense of her own worth.
• She knows her own worth.
• Some experts doubt the economic worth of the project.
• Study has an intrinsic worth, as well as helping you achieve your goals.
• The emergency lighting has proved its worth this year.
• The insurance company agreed to pay the car's current market worth.
• They are looking for a new sales manager of proven worth.
• They don't appreciate her at her real worth.
• This necklace isn't worth anything in money terms, but its worth to me is incalculable.
• A good job interview should help candidates prove their worth.
• He has a personal net worth of $10 million.

• The children here quickly gain a sense of their own worth.

cheap

cheap [cheap cheaper cheapest] adjective, adverb   [tʃiːp]    [tʃiːp]

adjective (cheap·er, cheap·est) 

LOW PRICE
1. costing little money or less money than you expected
Syn:  inexpensive
• cheap fares
• Personal computers are cheap and getting cheaper.
• Cycling is a cheap way to get around.
• The printer isn't exactly cheap at £200.
• immigrant workers, used as a source of cheap labour (= workers who are paid very little, especially unfairly)
• A good education is not cheap.
• (BrE) Calls cost 36p a minute cheap rate.
see also  dirt cheap

Opp:  expensive

2. charging low prices
• a cheap restaurant/hotel
• a cheap taxi firm
• (BrE) We found a cheap and cheerful cafe (= one that is simple and charges low prices but is pleasant).

Opp:  expensive  

POOR QUALITY

3. (disapproving) low in price and quality
• cheap perfume/jewellery/shoes

• (BrE) a cheap and nasty bottle of wine  

UNKIND

4. unpleasant or unkind and rather obvious
• I was tired of his cheap jokes at my expense.
• a comedian who is always looking for cheap laughs

• to score a cheap political advantage  

LOW STATUS

5. (disapproving) having a low status and therefore not deserving respect
• He's just a cheap crook.

• His treatment of her made her feel cheap (= ashamed, because she had lost her respect for herself).  

NOT GENEROUS

6. (NAmE) (BrE mean) (informal, disapproving) not liking to spend money
• Don't be so cheap!
more at life is cheap at  life  
Word Origin:
late 15th cent.: from an obsolete phrase good cheap ‘a good bargain’, from Old English cēap ‘bargaining, trade’, based on Latin caupo ‘small trader, innkeeper’.  
Thesaurus:
cheap adj.
1.
• You can get incredibly cheap fares on the Internet.
budget • • economical • • affordable • • reasonable • • half-price • • inexpensive • |especially business competitive •
Opp: expensive
cheap/budget/economical/affordable/reasonable/competitive prices/rates/fares
cheap/economical/affordable/inexpensive/competitive products/services
cheap/affordable/inexpensive goods
2. (disapproving)
• cheap and nasty bottles of wine
poor • • bad • • second-rate • • inferior • |BrE, taboo, slang crap • • shit • |AmE, taboo, slang crappy • • shitty •
a/an cheap/poor/bad/second-rate/inferior copy/imitation
a/an cheap/bad/second-rate/inferior/crap/shit/crappy/shitty product  
Synonyms:
cheap
competitive • budget • affordable • reasonable • inexpensive
These words all describe a product or service that costs little money or less money than you expected.
cheap • costing little money or less money than you expected; charging low prices. Cheap can also be used in a disapproving way to suggest that sth is poor quality as well as low in price: ▪ a bottle of cheap perfume.
competitive • (of prices, goods or services) as cheap as or cheaper than those offered by other companies; able to offer goods or services at competitive prices.
budget • [only before noun] (used especially in advertising) cheap because it offers only a basic level of service.
affordable • cheap enough for most people to afford.
reasonable • (of prices) not too expensive.
inexpensive • (rather formal) cheap. Inexpensive is often used to mean that sth is good value for its price. It is sometimes used instead of cheap, because cheap can suggest that sth is poor quality.
cheap/competitive/budget/affordable/reasonable prices/fares/rates
cheap/competitive/budget/affordable/inexpensive products/services  
Example Bank:
• It's a good restaurant, and incredibly cheap.
• Shoes like that don't come cheap.
• The bag looks cheap and nasty.
• The glasses are plain without looking cheap.
• The school managed to get a couple of computers on the cheap.
• They're selling fabrics cheap this week.
• a brand new radio going cheap
• A quality pair of Italian shoes doesn't come cheap.
• Don't be so cheap!
• He was so generous he made the other guests look cheap.
• He's just trying to score a cheap political advantage.
• He's so cheap, he'd never fly to London in a million years.
• His treatment of her made her feel cheap.
• I was tired of her cheap jokes at my expense.
• It was just a bottle of cheap perfume.
• Italy was a very cheap country to visit in those days.
• She was just too cheap to buy a real present.
• The market has been flooded with cheap imports.
• The printer isn't exactly cheap at £200.
• The room was filled with the smell of cheap perfume.
• The skirt was dirt cheap.
• The town is full of immigrant workers, used as a source of cheap labour.
• They're offering incredibly cheap fares to Eastern Europe.
• They've got brand new CD players going cheap.
• We brought a few cheap and nasty bottles of wine home from holiday.
• We found a cheap and cheerful cafe.
• a cheap floozy/tart/whore
• The watch was suspiciously cheap; it was probably a fake.
• cheap and nasty products with brand names you've never heard of
Idioms: cheap at the price ▪ going cheap ▪ on the cheap ▪ something does not come cheap

Derived Word: cheapness