luxury

Pluralluxuries (some meanings)

1. 1
   noununcountable

   Very rich and comfortable surroundings, and the pleasant state of living they create.

   After years of struggle, the family finally enjoyed real luxury.

   The resort surrounds guests with luxury from the moment they arrive.

   Similarluxuriousness

   Oppositepoverty, austerity

   Note

   The word came through Old French from Latin luxuria, whose meanings ran from "rankness" to "luxury". That Latin word was built on luxus, "extravagance". Here it names a condition you live in, so it usually goes without an article: live in luxury, enjoy real luxury. Its opposites are austerity, spartanness and penury, and luxe is its clipped synonym.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   Something desirable and expensive that a person can do without.

   Owning a second home is a luxury few can justify.

   For them, eating out was an occasional luxury rather than a habit.

   Similarextravagance, indulgence, treat, frill

   Oppositenecessity, essential, basics

   Note

   Here luxury becomes a thing you can count: a luxury, ethical luxuries. Its most telling construction is afford the luxury of. Emerson Hough uses it in The Purchase Price (1910) to ask since when army officers could afford the luxury of amanuenses. The phrase frames the item as a cost someone must justify, and its natural opposites are necessity, essentials and basics.

3. 3
   adjective

   Desirable, enjoyable, and indulgent, though not essential.

   The cabin came with luxury extras like heated seats and a sunroof.

   Their wedding included plenty of luxury details no one truly needed.

   Similardeluxe, lavish, indulgent, plush, premium

   Oppositebasic, standard, no-frills

4. 4
   adjective

   Very expensive.

   The boutique stocks only luxury goods with eye-watering price tags.

   He splurged on a luxury watch that cost more than his car.

   Similarluxurious

   Oppositebudget, cheap, economy

   Note

   A noun pressed into service in front of other nouns: luxury goods, a luxury watch. It is compared with more and most, never with an -er ending. Where the full adjective luxurious describes a quality, this form works more like a price tag fixed to the noun. It says where the thing sits on the scale of cost.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   Something pleasant and desirable but not necessary in life, whether or not it is expensive.

   For a new parent, an uninterrupted night of sleep is a real luxury.

   Sitting in silence felt like an unaffordable luxury during exam week.

   Similartreat, indulgence, privilege, extravagance

   Oppositenecessity, essential, basics

   Note

   Price drops out of the picture: what makes something a luxury here is that it is rare, not costly. Writing in Rail in 2020, Paul Bigland calls plenty of spare seats on a train a luxury. Unlike the costly-indulgence meaning, this sense attaches easily to things no shop sells, such as room, quiet or an unbroken night's sleep.

6. 6
   adjective

   Describing the top-end market segment for mass-market vehicles, ranking above the premium segment.

   The automaker moved upmarket, adding a luxury division above its premium lineup.

   Buyers in the luxury segment expect features that standard cars lack.

   Similarhigh-end, upmarket

   Oppositeeconomy, budget

   Note

   Industry jargon with its own ranking. In the classification of mass-produced vehicles, luxury sits above premium. In everyday speech the two words are near-synonyms, but here they are separate rungs. In a car review or a sales report, a luxury model is a step beyond a premium one: the top of what is still built for the mass market.

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