precious item
1
3.0
- noun
- /ˈprɛʃəs ˈaɪtəm/
:
objeto precioso
- He lost his most precious items, including a completed manuscript on fossils and his personal copy of Linnaeus's Systema naturae with twenty years' worth of annotations.
- the most precious item
- other precious items
Examples
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Silk was only one item in the abundant cultural exchange on the route, but it was such a coveted, precious item that the name Silk Road stuck.
Academic text (1997) -
After the storm, they searched through the debris to find their most precious items, like old photographs and heirlooms.
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You touched and broke a few precious items.
Fiction book (1993) -
I've never even used such a precious item.
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It controls every book, every relic, every precious item in my library.
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She shut the glass door with her free hand to keep germs from reaching Sister's precious items.
Fiction book (1990) -
"These are extremely precious items to us, "so please treat our belongings with the utmost respect."
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Good The Arthashastra even advises rulers to stockpile this magical substance in the royal treasuries alongside such precious items as pearls, rubies and diamonds.
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She keeps her grandmother's necklace as a precious item that reminds her of her family.
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The museum displayed several precious items, including ancient coins and rare artifacts.
Synonyms
44
2.8
Things worth a lot of money, like jewelry or important papers
Things like money or jewellery that are worth a lot to someone
Antonyms
How Cherished
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an object of great value or sentimental importance' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'precious' (valuable/cherished) with 'item' (an object). This simple adjective+noun compositional pattern is regular in English and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase precious item comes from two simple words: precious meaning very valuable and item meaning a thing. Imagine putting a small jewel in a safe and calling it precious, and that image shows why precious item means 'an object of great value or sentimental importance'.