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value

val·ue/ˈvæl.ju/noun, verb

value is spelled V-A-L-U-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables (val·ue). It appears 141 times per million words in written English, the 737th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, value means “The quality that renders something desirable or valuable; worth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of value is values.

How many letters and syllables are in value?

Letters5: V-A-L-U-E
Syllables2: val·ue
In writing141 times per million words; the 737th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is value?

Value appears 141 times per million words in written English, the 737th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce value?

  • UK /ˈvæl.juː/
  • British /ˈval.jʉw/
  • US /ˈvæl.ju/

Value has 2 syllables, split val·ue in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-value.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with value

Also written: valu.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of value

  • values plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • valuing participle, present
  • valued participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does value mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The quality that renders something desirable or valuable; worth.

    There is tremendous value in a good education.

  2. 2

    The degree of importance given to something.

    The value of my children's happiness is second only to that of my wife.

  3. 3

    That which is valued or highly esteemed, such as one's morals, morality, or belief system.

    He does not share his parents' values.

  4. 4

    The amount (of money or goods or services) that is considered to be a fair equivalent for something else.

    The value of the stolen painting is estimated to be around four million pounds.

  5. 5

    The relative duration of a musical note.

    The value of a crotchet is twice that of a quaver.

  6. 6

    The relative darkness or lightness of a color in (a specific area of) a painting etc.

  7. 7

    Any definite numerical quantity or other mathematical object, determined by being measured, computed, or otherwise defined.

    The exact value of pi cannot be represented in decimal notation.

  8. 8

    Precise meaning; import.

    the value of a word; the value of a legal instrument

verb

  1. 1

    To determine or estimate the value of; to judge the worth of.

    I will have the family jewels valued by a professional.

  2. 2

    To regard highly; think much of; place importance upon.

    Gold was valued highly among the Romans.

  3. 3

    To hold dear; to cherish.

    I value these old photographs.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate value?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of value: HSV.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Value in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchvaleur (quality that renders something desirable or…), valoriser, évaluer, estimer (to determine or estimate the value of), apprécier (to regard highly), tenir (to hold dear)
GermanWert (quality that renders something desirable or…), schätzen (to determine or estimate the value of), Wichtigkeit (degree of importance given to something), Notenwert (relative duration of a musical note)
Portuguesevalor, valia (quality that renders something desirable or…), valorar (to determine or estimate the value of), valorizar (to regard highly), apreciar (to hold dear), apreço (degree of importance given to something)
Spanishvalor (quality that renders something desirable or…), valuar, avaluar, valorar, valorear, valorizar (to determine or estimate the value of)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does value come from?

From Middle English valew, value, from Old French value, feminine past participle of valoir, from Latin valēre (“be strong, be worth”), from Proto-Italic *walēō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“to be strong”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after value