Meaning of Idiom ‘Worth Its (or one’s) Weight in Gold’
When something is worth its weight in gold it is very valuable or very useful; to be very good; excellent; the best of its type.
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Usage Notes
This idiom can be applied to things or to people. So, a person can be worth his or her weight in gold. Even things that do not have weight can be worth their weight in gold.
Examples Of Use
“John is worth his weight in gold for this company.”
“Wow, this new medical records software makes my job a lot easier,” said Dr. Paulson. “Yep, it’s worth its weight in gold,” replied Dr. Patel.
“Russian With Max is a great YouTube channel for learning to speak Russian. His videos are worth their weight in gold.”
Origin
As of this writing, a gram of gold is worth over 60 U.S. dollars. That’s well over 60,000 dollars per kilo.
So, to be worth one’s weight in gold is to be very valuable indeed.
Gold is also very useful. Your smartphone contains about 50 cents worth of it, for example, as it’s a great conductor of electricity and also very useful for transferring data.
Since gold has been coveted for thousands of years, it’s no surprise that the allusion in this idiom has existed since Roman times.
It has been used in English since the 1300s.
More Idioms Starting with W
- Waste One’s Breath
- Wash Your Hands of (Someone or Something)
- What’s the Damage?
- Work One’s Fingers To the Bone
- Out of Wedlock
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