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trade-off

/ˌtreɪd ˈɔf/
/ˈtreɪdɒf/
IPA guide

Other forms: trade-offs

A trade-off is a kind of compromise that involves giving up something in return for getting something else. When looking you for an after-school job, you might have to make a trade-off: a lower hourly wage for a more convenient location, for example.

There are all kinds of trade-offs: one trade-off might be buying a new laptop that's very lightweight and portable but doesn't have as much memory as you wish it had. In economics, a trade-off is defined as an "opportunity cost." For example, you might take a day off work to go to a concert, gaining the opportunity of seeing your favorite band, while losing a day's wages as the cost for that opportunity.

Definitions of trade-off
  1. noun
    an exchange that occurs as a compromise
    synonyms: tradeoff
    see moresee less
    type of:
    exchange, interchange
    the act of changing one thing for another thing
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