prime cost

noun

1. that part of the cost of a commodity deriving from the labor and materials directly utilized in its manufacture.

prime cost

noun

1. Also called: variable cost. the portion of the cost of a commodity that varies directly with the amount of it produced, principally comprising materials and labour Compare overheads

Word History and Origins

Origin of prime cost¹

First recorded in 1710–20

Example Sentences

In an email to customers overnight, Amazon revealed its annual Prime cost will jump 20 percent in the UK from £79 to £95 from September 15th.

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A 12-month subscription to Amazon Prime cost £79.

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Oddly enough, although the Government would not allow the merchants to reap the profit, they themselves, in virtue of the expense in connection with the issue of rations, were not above charging these expenses to prime cost, and so exorbitantly increasing themselves the retail price of the articles which they had taken over.

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An addition to the price; rise in price or value; as, an advance on the prime cost of goods.

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Show me the man who denies it, and I will show you a man devoid of moral perception, destitute of the principle of right dealing between man and man; yet this same Hudson’s Bay Company claim credit for saving the thousands of men they had robbed of their hard cash, in not allowing a few sacks of old flour and a quantity of damaged bacon to be sold to exceed one hundred per cent. above prime cost.

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