worth

predic. Adj. (used like a preposition) 1 of a value equivalent to (is worth 50; is worth very little). 2 such as to justify or repay (worth doing; not worth the trouble). 3 possessing or having property amounting to (is worth a million pounds). n. 1 what a person or thing is worth; the (usu. High) merit of (of great worth). 2 equivalent of money in a commodity (ten pounds' worth of petrol).  for all one is worth colloq. With one's utmost efforts. For what it is worth without a guarantee of its truth or value. Worth it colloq. Worth while. Worth one's salt see *salt. Worth one's weight in gold see *weight. Worth while (or one's while) see *while. [old english]

v. i. To be; to become; to betide; -- now used only in the phrases, woe worth the day, woe worth the man, etc., in which the verb is in the imperative, and the nouns day, man, etc., are in the dative. Woe be to the day, woe be to the man, etc., are equivalent phrases.