marginal cost

American  

noun

Economics.

1. the cost of one additional unit of any item produced or bought in quantity.

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marginal cost Cultural  

1. The change in total cost of production when an output is varied by one unit.

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Etymology

Origin of marginal cost

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

marginal cost

Their bull case would see that marginal cost expand to 2 times due to currency debasement and capital flow into hard assets.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

The analysts define their price as a multiple of marginal cost — the cost of the least efficient miner — of the last two cycles, from 2016 to 2019 and 2020 to 2023.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

The fact that marginal cost pricing would lead to reselling, creating windfall profits for anyone lucky enough to get a rationed ticket, does not alter the principle.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026

But you can ask your kid to pay you the marginal cost of their presence in the plan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

The question should thus at once suggest itself—"Can we speak appropriately of the marginal cost of production, and will this serve to make clear the relation between cost and price?"

From Supply and Demand by Hubert D. Henderson