COST BILL CHARGE FEE PRICE COST (Noun [C]) A) The amount of money that you have to pay

pay in order to buy, do, or produce something. Collocations Pay the cost of sth Meet/bear the cost (of sth.) =pay for sth. Cover the cost (of sth.) = pay all of sth The cost of doing sth At a cost of $100/$ 20 Full-total/ high-low/ extra-additional cost Running/operating costs = what it costs to organize an event or run a business Labour-transport-legal cost B) COSTS (pl) 1 the money that you must regularly spend in order to run a business, a home, a car etc Reduce/cut sosts We have to cut costs in order to remain competitive 2 court costs the money that you must pay to lawyers etc if you are involved in a legal case in court, especially if you are found guilty Bellisario won the case and was awarded costs C) [U/C] something that you lose, give away, damage etc in order to achieve something At a cost of sth She had kept her promise to Christine, but at what cost to herself? Social/environmental cost We must avoid a scandal at all costs (=whatever happens). D) (Sgl) Am E the price that someone pays for something that they are going to sell [= cost price] At cost His uncle's a car dealer and let him buy the car at cost (=without making a profit). E) Know/ find out/ learn sth to your cost to realize something is true because you have had a very unpleasant experience Driving fast in wet conditions is dangerous, as my brother discovered to his cost!

BILL (N [C]) 1 Request for payment: a written list showing how much you have to pay for services you have received, work that has been done etc Bill for The bill for the repairs came to $650 Phone/electricity/gas etc bill 2 Restaurant (Br E): a list showing how much you have to pay for food you have eaten in a restaurant [= check Am E] Could we have the bill, please? 3 Law: a written proposal for a new law, which is brought to a parliament so that it can be discussed Approve/pass/ veto a bill The House of Representatives passed a new gun-control bill. 4 Money (Am E) a piece of paper money [= note BrE- coin] A five-dollar bill Other meanings 5 fit/fill the bill: To be exactly what you need This car fits the bill perfectly. It's cheap and gets good mileage. 6 Concert/show etc : a programme of entertainment at a theatre, concert, cinema etc, with details of who is performing, what is being shown etc Tricia topped the bill (=was the most important performer) at the Children's Variety Show. 7 Give somebody/something a clean bill of health: to officially state that someone is in good health or that something is working correctly Maddox was given a clean bill of health 8 Advertisment: a printed notice advertising an event

CHARGE (N) Price [C/U] the amount of money you have to pay for goods or services Charge of an admission charge of $5 Charge for There's a 50 pence booking charge for each ticket Also: Guided tours are provided at no charge. Your order will be sent free of charge (=at no cost). The shop will fit them for a small extra charge Other meanings 1 Control [U] the position of having control or responsibility for a group of people or an activity In charge of sth He asked to speak to the person in charge 2 Crime [C] an official statement made by the police saying that they believe someone may be guilty of a crime Charge against Charge of

FEE (N) [C] An amount of money that you pay to do something or that you pay to a professional person for their work Cable TV subscribers pay monthly fees. Entrance/ entry fee = fee to enter a place The run, to raise money for breast cancer, has a 10 entry fee (=fee to enter a competition). Doctors/ lawyers/ accounts fee Legal/medical fee My solicitor charges a flat fee (=an amount that does not change) for handling the sale of a house.

PRICE (N) [C/U] The amount of money you have to pay for something Collocations High/low [pice Prices go up/rise/increase/drop/go down/fall Prices fluctuate =prices go up and down Put up/ increase/raise prices Cut/ lower slash prices= make them lower Agree on (a ) price/ fix a price Price freeze = when prices are kept at the same level Price war = when shops try to get the lowest prices Price for We agreed on a price for the bike. Price of The price of fuel keeps going up. Other meanings 1 (Sgl) the unpleasant things that you must suffer in order to be successful, free etc Price of He's never at home, but that's the price of success. 2 half/full price used to talk about half the usual price of something, or the actual usual price I bought these jeans at half price in the sale. 3 At a price For a lot of money You can get goat's cheese at the local delicatessen - at a price! 4 At any price= whatever the cost or difficulty may be She was determined to have a child at any price. 5 put a price on sth= to give sth a financial value You can't put a price on what a mother does for her children 6 be beyond price= to be extremely valuable or important 7 everyone has their price= used to say that you can persuade people to do anything if you give them what they want

Compare cost, costs, price, charge, fee, fare We Use cost to talk about paying for services and activities, rather than objects The total cost of the trip was under $500. Your costs are the amount of money you have to spend in order to run a business or to do a particular activity The shop was not making enough money to cover its costs. Use price to mean the amount of money that you must pay for something in a place such as a shop or restaurant We are cutting all our prices (NOT costs) by 50% for one day only! A charge is the amount you have to pay to have a particular service or use something For a small charge we will also make your hotel reservations. A fee is the amount you have to pay to enter or join something The gallery charges no entrance fee. It is also the amount you have to pay for a professional service The lawyer explained her fees. A fare is the amount you have to pay to travel somewhere by bus, train, plane etc I need some money for my bus fare.