Meaning of king's ransom | Babel Free

Definitions

A very large sum of money.

idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“"But to yonder pavilion . . . the moon is glimmering on the gilded ball which crowns its roof, and which is worth a king's ransom."”

“These gold, silver and pewter pieces are part of a king’s ransom of Spanish treasure salvaged from the sea off Florida where they had lain for 250 years.”

““[…]This commercial message is sponsored by Lebenthal in the heartfelt belief that we’re not the only ones who are going to miss⟳ the bonds when they’re gone and it costs a king’s ransom to turn⟳ on the lights, boil water, or haul the garbage.””

“Solving longitude was one of the major preoccupations of European nations from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. King’s ransoms were offered for its solution.”

“Except that Clarissa Astley would not have⟳ been decked out in a king's ransom of diamonds.”

CEFR level