Idioms are fun phrases that mean something different from the actual words inside them. People use them to make conversation more colorful, interesting, and full of feeling. Today, you will learn a large group of helpful idioms related to costing a lot of money and being very expensive.
In this lesson, we’ll look at idioms for expensive that mean costing too much money and high prices. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Idioms for Expensive
1. A king’s ransom
Meaning: An enormous and very expensive amount of money.
For Example: Buying that brand new sports car costs a king’s ransom. / He felt that going on the luxury vacation would cost a king’s ransom.
Other Ways to Say: A fortune / Huge amount of money
2. An arm and a leg
Meaning: Something that is extremely expensive and costs a lot to buy.
For Example: The brand new gaming computer cost an arm and a leg. / We wanted the giant toy, but it cost an arm and a leg.
Other Ways to Say: Very expensive / Overpriced
3. Big ticket
Meaning: An item that carries a very high price tag and costs a lot.
For Example: Buying a new refrigerator is a big ticket purchase for our family. / The store displayed all their big ticket items near the front window.
Other Ways to Say: Expensive item / Costly product
4. Break the bank
Meaning: To spend so much money that your savings are completely wiped out.
For Example: Buying those fancy shoes would totally break the bank. / We wanted an affordable vacation that would not break the bank.
Other Ways to Say: Cost too much / Empty savings
5. Cost a pretty penny
Meaning: A traditional phrase meaning an item is quite expensive.
For Example: Her new winter coat must have cost a pretty penny. / Fixing the family car cost a pretty penny last week.
Other Ways to Say: Cost a lot / Expensive
6. Cost the earth
Meaning: An expression meaning something is exceptionally costly everywhere.
For Example: Organic food at that special market seems to cost the earth. / Building a custom treehouse would cost the earth.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely expensive / Cost a fortune
7. Dearly bought
Meaning: Something acquired at a very high financial or personal cost.
For Example: That rare antique vase was dearly bought at the auction. / The lessons learned from that expensive mistake were dearly bought.
Other Ways to Say: Costly purchase / Hard-earned
8. Deep pockets
Meaning: Having plenty of money to buy expensive things.
For Example: Only someone with deep pockets could afford to buy that mansion. / The company had deep pockets to fund the expensive project.
Other Ways to Say: Very wealthy / Rich
9. Extravagant price
Meaning: A cost that goes far beyond what is reasonable or normal.
For Example: Paying fifty dollars for a single sandwich is an extravagant price. / The restaurant charged an extravagant price for dessert.
Other Ways to Say: Outrageous cost / High price
10. Fat cat
Meaning: A wealthy person who spends money on expensive luxuries.
For Example: The owner of the expensive yacht was called a fat cat. / Only a fat cat could afford membership at that country club.
Other Ways to Say: Rich person / Wealthy individual
11. Golden handshake
Meaning: An expensive separation payment given to a leaving executive.
For Example: The retiring manager received a golden handshake worth millions. / Leaving the company included a generous golden handshake.
Other Ways to Say: Costly payout / Large severance
12. Heavy price
Meaning: Suffering a high financial cost for a mistake or luxury.
For Example: Buying the wrong car parts made him pay a heavy price. / Luxurious items often come with a heavy price tag.
Other Ways to Say: Costly mistake / High expense
13. High priced
Meaning: Goods or services that carry a price well above average.
For Example: We decided not to eat at that high priced restaurant downtown. / The boutique sold high priced clothing.
Other Ways to Say: Costly / Expensive
14. High roller
Meaning: Someone who spends large amounts of money on expensive entertainment.
For Example: He acted like a high roller when ordering the most expensive meals. / The resort attracted wealthy high rollers from the city.
Other Ways to Say: Big spender / Wealthy gambler
15. In the high figures
Meaning: A price tag that reaches into the thousands or millions.
For Example: The cost of the new house was safely in the high figures. / Their vacation expenses ran into the high figures.
Other Ways to Say: Very costly / Expensive sum
16. Luxury item
Meaning: Something non-essential that is exceptionally expensive to buy.
For Example: Buying a designer watch is a luxury item rather than a need. / Designer shoes are considered a luxury item.
Other Ways to Say: High-end good / Expensive treat
17. Made of money
Meaning: A joking phrase suggesting someone can afford expensive things.
For Example: When I asked for a new bicycle, dad joked that we were not made of money. / You cannot buy everything you want as if we are made of money.
Other Ways to Say: Wealthy / Having endless cash
18. Mint condition
Meaning: An old collectible item whose high value makes it expensive.
For Example: The vintage comic book was in mint condition and cost a fortune. / Finding a toy in mint condition raises its price.
Other Ways to Say: Flawless / Perfect state
19. Money to burn
Meaning: Having so much extra cash that you can buy expensive luxuries freely.
For Example: He bought three video games as if he had money to burn. / Only someone with money to burn would buy that gold watch.
Other Ways to Say: Excess cash / Wealthy spending
20. Out of my price range
Meaning: Something that is too expensive for your current budget.
For Example: I loved the bicycle, but it was completely out of my price range. / That restaurant is nice, but it is out of my price range.
Other Ways to Say: Too expensive / Unaffordable
21. Pay through the nose
Meaning: To pay an unfairly high and expensive price for something.
For Example: We had to pay through the nose to get tickets at the last minute. / Buying snacks at the amusement park means you pay through the nose.
Other Ways to Say: Overpay / Cost a fortune
22. Priceless
Meaning: Something so valuable and rare that no expensive price tag can measure it.
For Example: The painting in the art museum is considered priceless. / Family photo albums are priceless treasures.
Other Ways to Say: Invaluable / Beyond value
23. Pricey
Meaning: A casual word meaning something is a bit too expensive.
For Example: Those designer sneakers looked great, but they were quite pricey. / We skipped the cafe because the coffee was too pricey.
Other Ways to Say: Costly / Expensive
24. Rich man’s toy
Meaning: An expensive gadget or vehicle that only wealthy people buy.
For Example: That giant racing boat is just a rich man’s toy. / He bought an expensive sports car as a rich man’s toy.
Other Ways to Say: Costly luxury / Expensive gadget
25. Sky-high prices
Meaning: Prices that have risen to an extremely expensive level.
For Example: Grocery stores sometimes have sky-high prices for fresh fruit in winter. / We avoided the downtown shops because of sky-high prices.
Other Ways to Say: Inflated costs / Very expensive
26. Steep price
Meaning: A cost that feels much higher than what is fair.
For Example: Fifty dollars for a movie ticket is a steep price to pay. / The mechanic asked a steep price for repairing the brakes.
Other Ways to Say: High cost / Expensive fee
27. Stiff price
Meaning: A heavy financial demand for goods or services.
For Example: Buying textbooks new every semester demands a stiff price. / The hotel charged a stiff price for holiday bookings.
Other Ways to Say: High cost / Expensive charge
28. Take a heavy toll
Meaning: An expensive purchase that drains your savings severely.
For Example: Buying the new roof took a heavy toll on our family budget. / The luxury vacation took a heavy toll on his bank account.
Other Ways to Say: Drain savings / Cost heavily
29. Top dollar
Meaning: The highest possible and most expensive price for an item.
For Example: He paid top dollar to get front row tickets for the concert. / We sold our vintage bicycle for top dollar at the yard sale.
Other Ways to Say: Premium price / Highest cost
30. Unaffordable
Meaning: Something that costs too much for you to buy.
For Example: The downtown apartment rent was completely unaffordable for us. / That luxury coat was nice, but unaffordable.
Other Ways to Say: Too costly / Out of reach
31. Worth its weight in gold
Meaning: Something so useful that its high expense is totally justified.
For Example: That map during our hike was worth its weight in gold. / A good umbrella during a storm is worth its weight in gold.
Other Ways to Say: Invaluable / Extremely useful
32. A small fortune
Meaning: An amount of money that is quite large and expensive.
For Example: Fixing the kitchen sink cost us a small fortune. / Buying all those textbooks took a small fortune.
Other Ways to Say: Lot of money / Expensive sum
33. All that glitters is not gold
Meaning: An expensive item might look fancy, but turn out to be cheap.
For Example: The shiny ring broke immediately, proving all that glitters is not gold. / Remember that all that glitters is not gold when shopping.
Other Ways to Say: Deceptive quality / False value
34. Catch-22 pricing
Meaning: A frustrating situation where good quality always costs too much.
For Example: Wanting a durable bike that is not expensive feels like a catch-22 pricing problem. / Good shoes always cost more, which is a real pricing dilemma.
Other Ways to Say: Cost dilemma / Pricing puzzle
35. Fancy-schmancy
Meaning: A playful term for something overly expensive and fancy.
For Example: We went to a fancy-schmancy restaurant for our anniversary. / He wore a fancy-schmancy suit to the party.
Other Ways to Say: Overly luxurious / High-end
36. Golden handcuffs
Meaning: An expensive financial package that keeps someone tied to a job.
For Example: The high salary acted as golden handcuffs for the manager. / He wanted to quit, but the golden handcuffs kept him working.
Other Ways to Say: Costly incentive / Lucrative trap
37. High-end
Meaning: Designed for wealthy buyers and carrying expensive prices.
For Example: The mall downtown features many high-end clothing boutiques. / We browsed the high-end electronics section for computers.
Other Ways to Say: Luxury / Expensive grade
38. Kingdom’s worth
Meaning: An exaggerated way to describe an ultra-expensive treasure.
For Example: The royal crown jewels were worth a kingdom’s worth. / He joked that his rare baseball card was worth a kingdom’s worth.
Other Ways to Say: Priceless / Ultra expensive
39. Money talks
Meaning: The idea that having expensive money solves problems quickly.
For Example: They upgraded their seats easily because money talks in first class. / In business negotiations, people say money talks.
Other Ways to Say: Wealth wins / Cash rules
40. Outrageous price
Meaning: A cost so high that it makes people angry or shocked.
For Example: Charging ten dollars for a bottle of water is an outrageous price. / We walked out of the store due to outrageous prices.
Other Ways to Say: Absurd cost / Crazy price
41. Premium price
Meaning: Paying extra money for superior quality or brand name.
For Example: Organic vegetables often sell at a premium price in the market. / He bought the brand name shoes at a premium price.
Other Ways to Say: Extra cost / High price
42. Price tag
Meaning: The printed label showing how expensive an item is.
For Example: She looked at the price tag and gasped at how high it was. / Removing the price tag before wrapping the gift is polite.
Other Ways to Say: Cost label / Amount shown
43. Ride first class
Meaning: Choosing the most expensive and luxurious travel option.
For Example: On their anniversary, the couple decided to ride first class. / Booking a luxury suite means you choose to ride first class.
Other Ways to Say: Travel luxuriously / High-end travel
44. Robbery in broad daylight
Meaning: A playful way to describe an item priced far too expensively.
For Example: Paying twenty dollars for parking is robbery in broad daylight. / Charging that much for a basic sandwich is robbery in broad daylight.
Other Ways to Say: Rip-off / Overpriced
45. Spank the wallet
Meaning: A funny way to describe making a very expensive purchase.
For Example: Buying that new bicycle really spanked the wallet. / Holiday shopping is bound to spank the wallet.
Other Ways to Say: Drain cash / Cost dearly
46. Spendthrift
Meaning: Someone who spends money carelessly on expensive items.
For Example: He was a spendthrift who bought expensive gadgets every week. / Saving money is hard if you act like a spendthrift.
Other Ways to Say: Big spender / Wasteful buyer
47. Squeak your wallet
Meaning: Running out of money after buying an expensive item.
For Example: Buying tickets for the concert made our wallets squeak. / That expensive dinner made my wallet squeak.
Other Ways to Say: Drain cash / Empty funds
48. Throw money at it
Meaning: Solving an expensive problem by spending lots of cash.
For Example: Instead of fixing the old car, they decided to throw money at a new one. / You cannot just throw money at every homework difficulty.
Other Ways to Say: Spend lavishly / Pay to fix
49. Too rich for my blood
Meaning: Something that is far too expensive for your budget.
For Example: I looked at the front row concert tickets, but they were too rich for my blood. / That expensive restaurant is too rich for my blood.
Other Ways to Say: Too expensive / Unaffordable
50. Upscale
Meaning: Geared toward wealthy customers with expensive tastes.
For Example: The family visited an upscale neighborhood for dinner. / Upscale stores sell very costly clothing items.
Other Ways to Say: High-end / Luxury
51. Wipe out savings
Meaning: Spending all your money on a single expensive purchase.
For Example: Buying the sports car would wipe out savings instantly. / Paying for college tuition can wipe out savings.
Other Ways to Say: Empty bank account / Cost everything
52. Worth a mint
Meaning: An item that has a very high resale value and is expensive.
For Example: That vintage toy guitar from the fifties is worth a mint today. / His rare baseball card collection is worth a mint.
Other Ways to Say: Very valuable / Cost a fortune
53. Big spender
Meaning: Someone who loves buying expensive gifts and luxury items.
For Example: He acted like a big spender when treating his friends to dinner. / My uncle is a big spender during the holidays.
Other Ways to Say: Wealthy buyer / Generous shopper
54. Cash cow
Meaning: An expensive business or project that brings in continuous money.
For Example: That popular amusement park ride became a cash cow for the town. / Their new software product turned into a cash cow.
Other Ways to Say: Money maker / Profitable asset
55. Cost a bomb
Meaning: A British phrase meaning something is extremely expensive.
For Example: Repairing the roof after the storm cost a bomb. / Importing those specialty chocolates from overseas costs a bomb.
Other Ways to Say: Cost a fortune / Very pricey
56. Pay through the teeth
Meaning: To spend an enormous amount of money on a costly item.
For Example: We had to pay through the teeth for front row seats. / Buying textbooks new means you pay through the teeth.
Other Ways to Say: Overpay / Cost heavily
57. Pricey merchandise
Meaning: Items in a store that carry high, expensive price tags.
For Example: The boutique downtown is known for selling pricey merchandise. / We looked at the catalog full of pricey merchandise.
Other Ways to Say: Costly goods / Expensive items
58. Squeeze your budget
Meaning: When an expensive purchase makes it hard to pay for other things.
For Example: Buying the new computer will really squeeze your budget. / High utility bills squeeze your budget every winter.
Other Ways to Say: Strain finances / Cost too much
59. Throw cash around
Meaning: Spending large sums of expensive money carelessly.
For Example: Winning the lottery made him start to throw cash around. / It is unwise to throw cash around on unnecessary luxuries.
Other Ways to Say: Spend wastefully / Waste money
60. Cost an eye
Meaning: A playful way to say something is remarkably expensive.
For Example: Tickets to the championship game cost an eye. / Building a custom treehouse can cost an eye.
Other Ways to Say: Very expensive / Cost a fortune
Exercise to Practice
- Buying that brand new sports car costs a ________ ransom.
- The brand new gaming computer cost an ________ and a leg.
- Buying those fancy shoes would totally break the ________.
- Her new winter coat must have cost a pretty ________.
- Buying a new refrigerator is a ________ ticket purchase for our family.
- The bicycle looked great, but it was completely out of my price ________.
- Fifty dollars for a single movie ticket is a ________ price to pay.
- We had to pay through the ________ to get tickets at the last minute.
- That vintage comic book was in mint ________ and cost a fortune.
- Fixing the kitchen sink cost us a small ________.
- Charging ten dollars for a single bottle of water is an outrageous ________.
- Organic vegetables often sell at a ________ price in the market.
- That expensive restaurant downtown is too ________ for my blood.
- Repairing the roof after the heavy storm cost a ________.
- Tickets to the championship football game cost an ________.
Answer Key
- king’s
- arm
- bank
- penny
- big
- range
- steep
- nose
- condition
- fortune
- price
- premium
- rich
- bomb
- eye
Conclusion
Learning these idioms helps you talk about high prices, shopping budgets, and expensive items in fun new ways. When you know how to use these phrases, discussing costs and money becomes much more engaging.
Try using one or two of these expressions the next time you go shopping or talk about toy prices with your friends. You will see how much color and humor they bring to your daily conversations!
