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- Dictionarywhite elephant/ˌwʌɪt ˈɛlɪf(ə)nt/
noun
- 1. a possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of: "a huge white elephant of a house that needed ten thousand spent on it"
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something that is expensive, or that costs a lot of money to keep in good condition, but that has no useful purpose and is no longer wanted: She believes the development may become a white elephant that fails to attract suitable tenants. The Olympic committee discourages host cities from building sports venues that turn into costly white elephants.
A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness.
1. : an Asian elephant of a pale color that is sometimes venerated in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar. 2. a. : a property requiring much care and expense and yielding little profit. b. : an object no longer of value to its owner but of value to others. c. : something of little or no value.
White elephant definition: a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of. See examples of WHITE ELEPHANT used in a sentence.
What's the meaning of the phrase 'A white elephant'? Originally ‘white elephants’ were simply that – elephants that were white. Later, the expression came to mean ‘a burdensome possession – one that is more trouble than it is worth’.
Nov 2, 2023 · "A white elephant" refers to a possession which is expensive to maintain, not very useful, and difficult to get rid of. What Does "A White Elephant" Mean? The idiom "a white elephant" is a phrase that describes something that, although valuable or unique, is also a burden or costly to keep.
The idiom “white elephant” is a commonly used expression in English language, which refers to an object or possession that is expensive to maintain or useless. The origins of this idiom can be traced back to ancient cultures where white elephants were considered sacred animals.
