Meaning & use
worth the candle
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phraseold-fashioned
worth doing or having when you consider the effort, time, or money it costs
Grammar: Used after the verb be, often in the negative: 'It's not worth the candle.'
Patterns
- be worth the candle
- not be worth the candle
The extra paperwork hardly seems worth the candle.
For such a small profit, the long journey isn't worth the candle.
She decided the job was worth the candle because she loved the work.
Common combinations
- not worth the candle
- Fixing that old car is not worth the candle.
- hardly worth the candle
- The savings are hardly worth the candle.
- seem worth the candle
- The project may seem worth the candle if it attracts new customers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- worthwhile
- Worthwhile is the everyday word for something good enough to justify the effort; worth the candle is more idiomatic and often used in the negative.
- worth it
- Worth it is informal and very common; worth the candle is a fixed, slightly old-fashioned phrase with the same idea.
Commonly confused: worth the candle or worth the money?
worth the candle vs worth the money
Worth the money means good value for the price paid; worth the candle is broader and includes effort and time, not just money.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'worth the candle' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The idiom means not worth the effort, so B fits. An and D treat 'candle' literally, and C uses it about a real candle, which is not the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “worth the candle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.