From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcost of livingˌcost of ˈliving noun →the cost of livingExamples from the Corpuscost of living• She's moving to Oregon to escape the high cost of living in SiliconValley.• Since so much has to be imported, the local cost of living is high.• The lowcost of living makes such evenings a realpleasure.• Although the cost of living was very much less than it is now, schoolteachers' salaries were modest.• It had to, for the cost of livingsoared.• The cost of living continued to rise in wartime.From Longman Business Dictionarycost of livingˌcost of ˈliving nounECONOMICS the cost of living the average amount of money people in a particular place spend on food, clothes, or a place to liveThe cost of living rose by over 2.5% in the first half of this year.