king's ransom

An exorbitant sum of money. I've always wanted to vacation in Hawaii, but the plane tickets cost a king's ransom. A: "Oh, someone finally bought that big mansion?" B: "Yep, and I hear they paid a king's ransom, too."

See also: ransom

a king's ransom

mainly BRITISH

A king's ransom is an extremely large sum of money. She was paid a king's ransom for a five-minute appearance in the film. With so few skilled electricians available, these people can charge a king's ransom for their services.

See also: ransom

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

a king's ransom

a huge amount of money; a fortune.

In feudal times prisoners of war were freed for sums in keeping with their rank, so a king, as the highest-ranking individual, commanded the greatest ransom.

See also: ransom

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

a ˌking’s ˈransom

(literary) a very large amount of money: We don’t exactly get paid a king’s ransom in this job.In the past, if a king was captured in a war, his country would pay a ransom for his release.

See also: ransom

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