direct cost

American  

noun

1. a cost that can be related directly to the production of a product or to a particular function or service.

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Etymology

Origin of direct cost

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

The Pentagon publicly puts the direct cost of Operation Epic Fury at roughly $29 billion so far, mostly for munitions and equipment replacement.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

A more direct cost of new bans would be to cut off a pipeline of potential users who would stick with the app as adults.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

It was obviously in that farmer’s self-interest to do so, there being no direct cost to him.

From Salon • Jul. 12, 2025

With that in hand, they approached attorneys general in multiple states and made a compelling offer: hire them, at no direct cost to taxpayers, and recoup millions of dollars Centene had already set aside.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2024

But on any long run it is decidedly economical to cook for the dogs—not so much from the standpoint of direct cost as from that of weight and ease of hauling.

From Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled A Narrative of Winter Travel in Interior Alaska by Stuck, Hudson