Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having considerable monetary or material value for use or exchange.
  • adjective Of great importance, use, or service.
  • adjective Having admirable or esteemed qualities or characteristics.
  • noun A personal possession, such as a piece of jewelry, having a relatively high monetary value.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Capable of being valued; capable of having the value measured or estimated.
  • Of great value or price; having financial worth; representing a large market value: as, a valuable horse; valuable land; a valuable house.
  • Of great moral worth, utility, or importance; precious; worthy; estimable; deserving esteem: as, a valuable friend; a valuable companion.
  • noun A thing, especially a small thing, of value; a choice article of personal property; any piece of precious merchandise, usually of small bulk: generally in the plural.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Having value or worth; possessing qualities which are useful and esteemed; precious; costly
  • adjective Worthy; estimable; deserving esteem
  • adjective (Law) an equivalent or compensation having value given for a thing purchased, as money, marriage, services, etc.
  • noun A precious possession; a thing of value, especially a small thing, as an article of jewelry; -- used mostly in the plural.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective having a great value.
  • noun a personal possession such as jewellery, of relatively great monetary value; — usually used in plural form.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
  • noun something of value
  • adjective having worth or merit or value

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

value +‎ -able

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Examples

  • And I am not strictly opposed to a player on a non-contender winning the award, which has happened on occasion think Alex Rodriguez of the last-place Rangers in 2003 although I admit that's a tougher one for me since the word valuable suggests that the players' achievements did not go for naught and actually helped a team play into October.

    SI.com 2011

  • And I am not strictly opposed to a player on a non-contender winning the award, which has happened on occasion think Alex Rodriguez of the last-place Rangers in 2003 although I admit that's a tougher one for me since the word valuable suggests that the players' achievements did not go for naught and actually helped a team play into October.

    SI.com 2011

  • The criteria for the major leagues' MVP awards, voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, are fluid, depending largely on a voter's definition of the word "valuable."

    The MVP Dream Isn't Dead Just Yet Mike Sielski 2011

  • The U.S. military says he was seized two weeks ago and has been providing what they describe as valuable information about the group's inter-workings.

    CNN Transcript Jul 18, 2007 2007

  • They say it takes away from what they described as valuable work they could be doing in their home districts.

    CNN Transcript Feb 7, 2007 2007

  • "I must confess," says Lien Chi Altangi, "a curiosity to know what you call a valuable stock, which can only bear a winter perusal."

    Social relations in our Southern States, 1860

  • "The word 'valuable' is the whole thing," Johnson said.

    News - chicagotribune.com 2011

  • Judge Judy then proceeded to explain what she called a valuable life lesson.

    Nashville Is Talking 2008

  • And how valuable is a degree in Post-Colonial Studies compared to one in Sports Management or General Studies?

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Against the NCAA Cartel 2010

  • Scratch the surface of most successful entrepreneurs, and you'll find at least one significant "failure" that they've used to gain valuable experience.

    Think like an entrepreneur 2009

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