Cost an arm and a leg is the loudest way to say "too expensive". The price is so high that it feels like losing body parts to pay it.
The idiom is dramatic and informal. It works for concert tickets, car repairs, rent in a big city and anything that makes you look twice at the bill.
This page explains the meaning, the grammar, the register and the close alternatives. The 10-question drill at the end explains every answer.
What it means
In one sentence: If something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive, often unreasonably so.
What the idiom means in everyday English
- It means a high price: "That sofa cost an arm and a leg."
- The feeling is usually surprise or complaint about the cost.
- It can describe one purchase or a general cost of living: "Everything costs an arm and a leg these days."
- The idiom suggests the price is painful, not just large.
How the idiom behaves in a sentence
- The usual pattern is cost + an arm and a leg: "The tickets cost an arm and a leg."
- The subject is the thing that is expensive: the phone, the hotel, the repair.
- You can also say pay an arm and a leg: "I paid an arm and a leg for the delivery."
- The articles stay fixed: an arm and a leg, never the arm and the leg.
When the idiom does not fit
- Do not use it to describe time or effort; it is only about money.
- It is informal, so avoid it in a formal budget report; write "the cost was very high".
- Do not use it for something valuable that was cheap: a bargain is the opposite.
- The idiom exaggerates, so a slightly high price may not deserve it.
Use it or not
Register: Informal. Cost an arm and a leg belongs in conversation, messages and lively writing. It often sounds like a friendly complaint. In a formal report, write "the cost was very high" or "the price was above budget". The phrase is never rude, but it does exaggerate.
Examples
- The concert tickets cost an arm and a leg, but we went anyway.The price is high and the speaker complains.
- Rent in the city centre costs an arm and a leg.The idiom can describe a regular cost.
- I paid an arm and a leg for this phone, so I hope it lasts.Pay works as well as cost with the idiom.
- That restaurant is lovely, but the wine costs an arm and a leg.The idiom can point at one expensive item on the bill.
- Getting the car fixed cost an arm and a leg last month.The past form is cost, not costed, for a price.
- Everything costs an arm and a leg when you travel at the weekend.The idiom can describe a general pattern.
- She did not buy the bag because it cost an arm and a leg.The idiom explains the decision.
Similar idioms
cost a fortune
to be very expensive, the same idea in plain words.
cost a bomb
to be very expensive, informal British English.
break the bank
to cost more than you can afford.
steep
expensive, about prices, informal.
pricey
expensive, a gentle informal word.
Practice drill
Answer all 10 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the meaning is explained under the question.
The hotel was beautiful, but it ___ for one night.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. cost an arm and a leg Cost an arm and a leg means to be very expensive, which fits a beautiful but costly hotel.
Which sentence uses cost an arm and a leg correctly?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The new laptop cost an arm and a leg. The idiom means a very high price; the other sentences add time or contradict the high cost.
What does cost an arm and a leg mean?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. to be very expensive Cost an arm and a leg is an idiom for a very high price, not for physical pain or weight.
A concert ticket is £300 and you think that is far too much. What can you say?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. It costs an arm and a leg. The fixed idiom is cost an arm and a leg, and it fits the overpriced ticket.
Which thing can cost an arm and a leg?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. a designer handbag The idiom describes expensive things, and a designer handbag is the natural example.
Choose the sentence with the same meaning: "The repair cost an arm and a leg."
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The repair was very expensive. Cost an arm and a leg means a very high price, so the repair was very expensive.
Which is correct?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The watch costs an arm and a leg. The fixed phrase uses an arm and a leg: cost an arm and a leg.
You paid a lot for a delivery. What can you say about the price?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. I paid an arm and a leg for the delivery. Pay an arm and a leg is a common pattern with the same meaning: the delivery was very expensive.
Which sentence does NOT use the idiom correctly?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The essay took an arm and a leg to write. The idiom is about money, not time or effort, so using it for writing time is wrong.
A friend asks about your new sofa. It was very expensive. What can you reply?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. It cost an arm and a leg, but I love it. Cost an arm and a leg means the sofa was expensive, and the honest reply pairs the price with the pleasure.
Questions learners ask
Is cost an arm and a leg formal or informal?
It is informal. Use it in conversation, messages and light writing. In a formal budget or report, write "the cost was very high" or "the price exceeded the budget".
Does the idiom describe time or money?
Money only. If something takes a lot of time, say "it takes forever" or "it eats up my week". Cost an arm and a leg is always about a high price.
Why an arm and a leg?
The phrase is recorded in American English from the mid-1900s. A common story links it to portrait painters who charged extra for arms and legs, but no record proves it, so the real origin is uncertain.
More idioms
Burn the midnight oil
To burn the midnight oil is to stay up late working or studying, long after the normal day has ended.
Sit on the fence
To sit on the fence is to stay neutral and avoid taking sides in an argument or a choice.
Beat around the bush
To beat around the bush is to avoid the main point and talk about everything except what matters.
Browse all the idiom pages or take the free A1 to C2 level test to find your starting point.