white elephant

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ˈwhite ˈel•e•phant, n. [countable]

1. a possession that is no longer wanted by the owner but is difficult to sell or dispose of.
2. a possession that requires spending beyond its worth or value.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

white′ el′ephant, 

1. a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of:
   Our Victorian bric-a-brac and furniture were white elephants.
2. a possession entailing great expense out of proportion to its usefulness or value to the owner:
   When he bought the mansion he didn't know it was going to be such a white elephant.
3. Mammals an abnormally whitish or pale elephant, usually found in Thailand;
   an albino elephant.
• from the perh. apocryphal tale that the King of Siam would award a disagreeable courtier a white elephant, the upkeep of which would ruin the courtier 1850–55

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

white elephant noun

1. a rare albino or pale grey variety of the Indian elephant, regarded as sacred in parts of S Asia
2. a possession that is unwanted by its owner
3. an elaborate venture, construction, etc, that proves useless
4. a rare or valuable possession the upkeep of which is very expensive