Definition of "dear-bought" [dear•-bought]

• Bought at a high price. (adjective)

Gnu Collaboartive International Dictionary of English: licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

• "“You will observe, Sir,” Morris summed up, that “we set out in this war without arms, ammunition, clothing or stores of any kind, without money or credit except with our own people, that despising the practices of the most experienced Nations, We determined to pursue the purest principles of Economy in our own way, until we have by dear-bought experience learned that we knew almost nothing about the matter.”"
• "He answered and said, “Let there be peace betwixt us; I will atone for thy brethren with gold and dear-bought things, even as thy heart may wish.”"
• "And moreover their women are for ever seeking whatso is fair and goodly, whatso is far-fetched and dear-bought, whereof we chapmen also thrive, as thou mayst well deem."