marginal cost

noun

, Economics.

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

marginal cost

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of marginal cost¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Indeed, the marginal costs of acquiring new customers are more acute than ever for marketers.

From Digiday

AI and automation will replace most blue-collar work and “make” products for minimal marginal cost.

From Time

This means the marginal cost is reduced, so the merged entity can now lower its price to be more competitive and still earn a respectable profit margin.

From Digiday

“The main objective of the merged entity is to reduce the marginal cost of production,” said Tom Triscari, a programmatic economist at consulting firm Lemonade Projects.

From Digiday

In fact, most people think they deserve to be the marginal cost consumer.

From The Daily Beast

Now on top of that fixed cost you have a marginal cost: the amount that it costs you to actually put a patient in a room.

From The Daily Beast

Let's say for simplicity's sake that our marginal cost is also $3,000 a month, for a total cost of $6,000 a month, or $200 a day.

From The Daily Beast

As I've written before, Medicare pricing exploits the difference between the marginal cost and the average cost.

From The Daily Beast

You could see Groupon being a good way to get rid of products that are high fixed cost, low marginal cost goods.

From The Daily Beast

Marginal cost alternating with thick puncta; centre finely granulate with subtriangular elevations.

From Project Gutenberg

Marginal cost alternating with minute spines; centre nearly smooth, depressed, convex or flexuose.

From Project Gutenberg

Valve elliptical; surface transversely undulate, with short, marginal cost.

From Project Gutenberg

The desirable relation of price to marginal cost is but imperfectly attained.

From Project Gutenberg

This extra cost we can regard as constituting the marginal cost of mutton.

From Project Gutenberg