TREASURE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does treasure mean? 

• TREASURE (noun)
  The noun TREASURE has 4 senses:

1. accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.

2. art highly prized for its beauty or perfection

3. any possession that is highly valued by its owner

4. a collection of precious things

  Familiarity information: TREASURE used as a noun is uncommon.

• TREASURE (verb)
  The verb TREASURE has 2 senses:

1. hold dear

2. be fond of; be attached to

  Familiarity information: TREASURE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TREASURE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

hoarded wealth; treasure

Context example:

the pirates hid their treasure on a small island in the West Indies

Hypernyms ("treasure" is a kind of...):

riches; wealth (an abundance of material possessions and resources)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "treasure"):

fortune (a large amount of wealth or prosperity)

valuable (something of value)

king's ransom (a very large treasure)

treasure trove; trove (treasure of unknown ownership found hidden (usually in the earth))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Art highly prized for its beauty or perfection

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

gem; treasure

Hypernyms ("treasure" is a kind of...):

art; fine art (the products of human creativity; works of art collectively)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any possession that is highly valued by its owner

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Context example:

the children returned from the seashore with their shells and other treasures

Hypernyms ("treasure" is a kind of...):

possession (anything owned or possessed)

Derivation:

treasure (be fond of; be attached to)

treasure (hold dear)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A collection of precious things

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

the trunk held all her meager treasures

Hypernyms ("treasure" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

• TREASURE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they treasure    ... he / she / it treasures   
Past simple: treasured   
Past participle: treasured   
-ing form: treasuring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hold dear

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

appreciate; prize; treasure; value

Context example:

I prize these old photographs

Hypernyms (to "treasure" is one way to...):

consider; reckon; regard; see; view (deem to be)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "treasure"):

do justice (show due and full appreciation)

recognise; recognize (show approval or appreciation of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue treasure the movie

Derivation:

treasure (any possession that is highly valued by its owner)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be fond of; be attached to

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

care for; cherish; hold dear; treasure

Hypernyms (to "treasure" is one way to...):

love (have a great affection or liking for)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "treasure"):

yearn (have affection for; feel tenderness for)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

Sam cannot treasure Sue
Sam and Sue treasure the movie

Derivation:

treasure (any possession that is highly valued by its owner)

 Context examples 

You may not recollect it; but when a person is umble, Master Copperfield, a person treasures such things up!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“I don't know about treasure,” he said, “but I'll stake my wig there's fever here.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I must be careful of you, my treasure: nerves like yours were not made for rough handling.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Of treasure and gold have I enough, and more than anyone in the world.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

If you are already married, your partner will show you how much you are treasured, and you may receive a valuable gift.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

He could not tell which contained his treasure.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The possession of these treasures gave me extreme delight; I now continually studied and exercised my mind upon these histories, whilst my friends were employed in their ordinary occupations.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

“What are these treasures, then, father?” asked Hordle John.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Emma was quite eager to see this superior treasure.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Elinor joyfully treasured her words as she answered, If you could be assured of that, you think you should be easy.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)