costar

See also: co-star

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm

Proto-Italic *kom

Proto-Italic *kom-

Latin con-

Latin co-der.

English co-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs-

Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr

Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr

Proto-Germanic *sternǭ

Proto-West Germanic *sternō

Proto-West Germanic *sterrō

Old English steorra

Middle English sterre

English star

English costar

From co- + star.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkəʊstɑː(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

costar (plural costars)

1. (acting) A person who shares star billing with another.

   The once famous actor objected to his costar having a bigger dressing room.

2. (acting) A person who slightly lacks the status to be considered a star.

   Alas, always a costar but never a star.

Verb

costar (third-person singular simple present costars, present participle costarring, simple past and past participle costarred)

1. (intransitive) To perform with the billing of a costar.

   People thought his career was over but now he will get to costar on Broadway next month.

2. (transitive) To feature (a number of star performers) jointly.
   • 2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1]:

     Purchasing a snowplow transforms Homer into a new man. Mr. Burns' laziest employee suddenly becomes an ambitious self-starter who buys ad time on local television at 3:17 A.M^[sic] (prime viewing hours, Homer gingerly volunteers, for everyone from alcoholics to the unemployable to garden-variety angry loners) and makes a homemade commercial costarring his family.

Anagrams

• Castor, Castro, Cators, Croats, acrost, actors, castor, scroat, scrota, tarocs

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin constāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kosˈta(ɾ)/
• Syllabification: cos‧tar
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

Verb

costar

1. (intransitive) to cost

Conjugation

Conjugation of costar (first conjugation)

infinitive	costar
gerund	costando
past participle		masculine	feminine
singular	costau, costato	costada, costata
plural	costaus, costatos	costadas, costatas
person	singular	plural
first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		yo	tú	él	nusatros nusatras	vusatros vusatras	ellos/els ellas
present	costo	costas	costa	costamos	costaz	costan
imperfect	costaba, costabe	costabas	costaba	costabanos	costabaz	costaban
preterite	costé	costés	costó	costemos	costez	costoron, costón
future	costaré	costarás	costará	costaremos	costarez	costarán
conditional	costaría	costarías	costaría	costaríanos	costaríaz	costarían
subjunctive		yo	tú	él	nusatros nusatras	vusatros vusatras	ellos/els ellas
present	coste	costes	coste	costemos	costez	costen
imperfect	costase	costases	costase	costasenos	costasez	costasen
imperative	—	tú	—	—	vusatros vusatras	—
—	costa	—	—	costaz	—

References

• “costar”, in Aragonario, diccionario aragonés–castellano (in Spanish)
• “costar”, in Diccionario ortografico de l’aragonés (seguntes la PO de l’EFA)‎^[2], Zaragoza: EDACAR, 2023, →ISSN, page 660
• Martínez Tur, Feliciano; Rodés Orquín, Francho (2022), “costar”, in Diccionario aragonés-castellano-catalán‎^[3], Zaragoza, Spain: Estudio de Filolochía Aragonesa, Edicions Dichitals de l’Academia de l’Aragonés, published April 2025, →ISSN, page 316

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin constāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kosˈtaɾ/ [kos̪ˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: cos‧tar

Verb

costar (first-person singular indicative present costo, past participle costáu)

1. to cost (incur a charge, a price)

Conjugation

Conjugation of costar

infinitive	costar
gerund	costando
past participle	m costáu, f costada, n costao, m pl costaos, f pl costaes
person	first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	costo	costes	costa	costamos	costáis	costen
imperfect	costaba	costabes	costaba	costábemos, costábamos	costabeis, costabais	costaben
preterite	costé	costasti, costesti	costó	costemos	costastis, costestis	costaron
pluperfect	costare, costara	costares, costaras	costare, costara	costáremos, costáramos	costareis, costarais	costaren, costaran
future	costaré	costarás	costará	costaremos	costaréis	costarán
conditional	costaría	costaríes	costaría	costaríemos, costaríamos	costaríeis, costaríais	costaríen
subjunctive	present	coste	costes, costas	coste	costemos	costéis	costen, costan
imperfect	costare, costara	costares, costaras	costare, costara	costáremos, costáramos	costareis, costarais	costaren, costaran
imperative	—	costa	—	—	costái	—

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin cōnstāre. Compare Occitan costar, French coûter, Spanish costar. Doublet of constar, a borrowing from Latin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [kusˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Northwestern) [kosˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kosˈtaɾ]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

Verb

costar (first-person singular present costo, first-person singular preterite costí, past participle costat); root stress: (Northern) /o̞/; (Balearic, Central, Northwestern, Valencia) /ɔ/

1. to cost (have a given price)
   • 2009, Jean Grave, Les Aventures d'en Nono:

     Digues, mare, quant costarà un llibre de contes[?]

     Tell me, mother, how much does a story book cost?

2. to be very difficult

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of costar (first conjugation)

infinitive	costar
gerund	costant
past participle		masculine	feminine
singular	costat	costada
plural	costats	costades
person	singular	plural
first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
present	costo	costes	costa	costem	costeu	costen
imperfect	costava	costaves	costava	costàvem	costàveu	costaven
future	costaré	costaràs	costarà	costarem	costareu	costaran
preterite	costí	costares	costà	costàrem	costàreu	costaren
conditional	costaria	costaries	costaria	costaríem	costaríeu	costarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
present	costi	costis	costi	costem	costeu	costin
imperfect	costés	costessis	costés	costéssim	costéssiu	costessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
affirmative	—	costa	costi	costem	costeu	costin
negative (no)	—	no costis	no costi	no costem	no costeu	no costin

References

• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “costar”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan costar, from Latin constāre.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Verb

costar

1. to cost

Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish costar, from Latin cōnstāre; the o-ue alternation may have been influenced by the unrelated noun cuesta. Doublet of constar, a borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kosˈtaɾ/ [kosˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: cos‧tar

Verb

costar (first-person singular present cuesto, first-person singular preterite costé, past participle costado)

1. to cost

   Cuesta catorce pesos.

   It costs fourteen pesos.

   • 2025 January 22, Reuters, “Nepal aumenta a US$ 15.000 la tarifa para escalar el monte Everest”, in CNN en Español‎^[4]:

     Un permiso para escalar el monte Everest de 8.849 metros (29.032 pies) costará US$ 15.000, dijo Narayan Prasad Regmi, director general del Departamento de Turismo, anunciando un aumento del 36% en la tarifa de US$ 11.000 que ha estado vigente durante casi una década.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. to be difficult (for someone), to have a hard time with something

   Cuando estoy de pie, me cuesta respirar.

   When I'm standing, it's hard for me to breathe. (Literally, “It costs me to breathe.”)

   Le cuesta mucho pronunciar esa palabra.

   He has a really hard time pronouncing that word. (Literally, “It costs him a lot to pronounce that word.”)

Usage notes

In the second sense, the subject and object roles are inverted relative to the English phrasing, as with gustar.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of costar (o-ue alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive	costar
gerund	costando
past participle		masculine	feminine
singular	costado	costada
plural	costados	costadas
	singular	plural
1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
present	cuesto	cuestastú costásvos	cuesta	costamos	costáis	cuestan
imperfect	costaba	costabas	costaba	costábamos	costabais	costaban
preterite	costé	costaste	costó	costamos	costasteis	costaron
future	costaré	costarás	costará	costaremos	costaréis	costarán
conditional	costaría	costarías	costaría	costaríamos	costaríais	costarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
present	cueste	cuestestú costésvos2	cueste	costemos	costéis	cuesten
imperfect (ra)	costara	costaras	costara	costáramos	costarais	costaran
imperfect (se)	costase	costases	costase	costásemos	costaseis	costasen
future1	costare	costares	costare	costáremos	costareis	costaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
affirmative		cuestatú costávos	cueste	costemos	costad	cuesten
negative		no cuestes	no cueste	no costemos	no costéis	no cuesten

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of costar (o-ue alternation)

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

	singular	plural
1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive costar	dative	costarme	costarte	costarle, costarse	costarnos	costaros	costarles, costarse
accusative	costarme	costarte	costarlo, costarla, costarse	costarnos	costaros	costarlos, costarlas, costarse
with gerund costando	dative	costándome	costándote	costándole, costándose	costándonos	costándoos	costándoles, costándose
accusative	costándome	costándote	costándolo, costándola, costándose	costándonos	costándoos	costándolos, costándolas, costándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative cuesta	dative	cuéstame	cuéstate	cuéstale	cuéstanos	not used	cuéstales
accusative	cuéstame	cuéstate	cuéstalo, cuéstala	cuéstanos	not used	cuéstalos, cuéstalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative costá	dative	costame	costate	costale	costanos	not used	costales
accusative	costame	costate	costalo, costala	costanos	not used	costalos, costalas
with formal second-person singular imperative cueste	dative	cuésteme	not used	cuéstele, cuéstese	cuéstenos	not used	cuésteles
accusative	cuésteme	not used	cuéstelo, cuéstela, cuéstese	cuéstenos	not used	cuéstelos, cuéstelas
with first-person plural imperative costemos	dative	not used	costémoste	costémosle	costémonos	costémoos	costémosles
accusative	not used	costémoste	costémoslo, costémosla	costémonos	costémoos	costémoslos, costémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative costad	dative	costadme	not used	costadle	costadnos	costaos	costadles
accusative	costadme	not used	costadlo, costadla	costadnos	costaos	costadlos, costadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative cuesten	dative	cuéstenme	not used	cuéstenle	cuéstennos	not used	cuéstenles, cuéstense
accusative	cuéstenme	not used	cuéstenlo, cuéstenla	cuéstennos	not used	cuéstenlos, cuéstenlas, cuéstense

Derived terms

• costar un cojón
• costar un huevo
• costar un ojo de la cara
• costar un pico
• nunca mucho cuesta poco
• quien algo quiere, algo le cuesta

Related terms

• costa
• coste
• costo
• costoso

Further reading

• “costar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Venetan

Alternative forms

• gostar

Etymology

From Latin constāre. Compare Italian costare.

Verb

costar

1. (intransitive) to cost

Conjugation

* Venetan conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Conjugation of costar (first conjugation)

infinitive	costar
auxiliary verb	èser	gerund	costando
past participle	costà
person	singular	plural
first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	mi	ti	eło / eła	noialtri / noialtre	voialtri / voialtre	łuri / łore
present	costo	(te) costi	(el/ła) costa	costémo, costòn	costé	(i/łe) costa
imperfect	costava	(te) costavi	(el/ła) costava	costàvimo	costavi	(i/łe) costava
future	costarò	(te) costarè	(el/ła) costarà	costarémo	costarè	(i/łe) costarà
conditional	costarìa	(te) costarisi	(el/ła) costarìa	costarìsimo	costarisi	(i/łe) costarìa
subjunctive	che mi	che ti	che eło / eła	che noialtri / noialtre	che voialtri / voialtre	che łuri / łore
present	coste, costa	(te) costi	(el/ła) coste, (el/ła) costa	costémo, costone	costé	(i/łe) coste, (i/łe) costa
imperfect	costase	(te) costasi	(el/ła) costase	costàsimo	costasi	(i/łe) costase
imperative	—	ti	eło / eła	noialtri / noialtre	voialtri / voialtre	łuri / łore
—	(te) costa	(el/ła) costa, (el/ła) coste	costémo	costé	(i/łe) costa, (i/łe) coste