prime cost

American  

noun

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

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prime cost British  

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

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Etymology

Origin of prime cost

First recorded in 1710–20

Example Sentences

Labor is indeed a prime cost factor in an industry that has never been able to mechanize to any great extent.

From Time Magazine Archive

The prime cost of a dozen-case, each bottle containing about a quart, fitted with wooden divisions and packed with husks, chaff, or sawdust, is 3_s_.

From To The Gold Coast for Gold, Vol. II A Personal Narrative by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

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

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

These were a royal trade, and had been purchased by the king of Spain for three hundred thousand florins, prime cost, and by him were designed to be retailed for five millions.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 2, August, 1863 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various

According to himself, his handbills, and his advertisements, everything contained in that shop was so very much under prime cost, that the more he sold the sooner he must be ruined.

From Mr. Joseph Hanson, The Haberdasher by Mitford, Mary Russell