white elephant
/ˌwaɪt ˈelɪfənt/noun
उच्चारण वाइट एलिफ़न्ट
सफ़ेद हाथी, महँगी पर बेकार चीज़
Advanced wordPYP · asked 3 times
Asked in previous papers
as idiom
SSC CGL Pre 2024SSC CHSL Pre 2025SSC Exams before 2018
noun
- 1
[C, usually singular] disapproving
a thing that is useless and no longer needed, although it may have cost a lot of money
सफ़ेद हाथी, महँगी पर बेकार चीज़
- The new stadium has become a white elephant.
- The costly machine turned out to be a white elephant for the small factory.
- The airport built in the small town became a white elephant because no airline wanted to fly there.
+ 2 more examples
- Many people think the old fountain is a white elephant that costs too much to maintain.
- Nobody wants to inherit a white elephant like that huge empty guest house.
¶Idioms 1
a white elephant
a possession or project that costs a lot to keep or run but brings little or no benefit
सफ़ेद हाथी (जिसका खर्च ज़्यादा और फ़ायदा न के बराबर हो)
- The airport in the small town is now a white elephant.
- Without trained staff, the expensive hospital equipment became a white elephant.
⌂Word origin and word building
From the story that the kings of Siam gave white elephants to courtiers they disliked, because the animals were very expensive to keep.
यह उस कहानी से आया है कि Siam के राजा जिन दरबारियों को नापसंद करते थे उन्हें सफ़ेद हाथी भेंट कर देते थे, क्योंकि उन्हें पालना बहुत महँगा पड़ता था।