pros and cons

American  

plural noun

1. the favorable and the unfavorable factors or reasons; advantages and disadvantages.

---

pros and cons British  

plural noun

1. the various arguments in favour of and against a motion, course of action, etc

---

pros and cons Idioms  

1. Arguments or considerations for and against something, as in We'd best weigh all the pros and cons before we decide to add a new wing to the library. This idiom is taken from the Latin pro for “for” and con for “against.” [Late 1500s]

---

Etymology

Origin of pros and cons

C16: from Latin prō for + con, from contrā against

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pros and cons

This gives United a level of unpredictability which comes with pros and cons.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

You already know the pros and cons of your current life.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026

I tried it on a Saturday earlier this month to size up the pros and cons because it might be coming to an off-airport location near you as efforts to ease airport congestion increase.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

After fretting and weighing the pros and cons, I eventually caved and decided to start mine young.

From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026

During that long summer I’d been over and over the various arguments, all the pros and cons, and it was no longer a question that could be decided by an act of pure reason.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien