What is a trade-off? A trade-off is an exchange of one thing for another. A trade-off can be literal, involving physical items, like in a lunch trade-off, where you get your friend’s lunch and they get yours. A trade-off can also be figurative, as when you have to stay home because you’re sick but the trade-off is you get to stay in bed all day. In this sense, a trade-off is a kind of compromise. Example: The big trade-off to running a marathon is getting to eat a lot of pasta!
First recorded in 1960–65; noun use of verb phrase trade off
How does trade-off compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
A trade-off is a kind of compromise that involves giving up something in return for getting something else. When looking you for an after-school job, you might have to make a trade-off: a lower hourly wage for a more convenient location, for example. There are all kinds of trade-offs: one trade-off might be buying a new laptop that's very lightweight and portable but doesn't have as much memory as you wish it had. In economics, a trade-off is defined as an "opportunity cost." For example, you might take a day off work to go to a concert, gaining the opportunity of seeing your favorite band, while losing a day's wages as the cost for that opportunity.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Big Tech does not need to stop spending for the earnings season to be positive. But the financial trade-off must improve," wrote Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
It’s a trade-off: Keep working to earn extra money and continue paying into the Social Security system, or stop working and survive on just your Social Security benefits and any other income.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
But the risk of getting trapped isn’t the only trade-off with semiliquid funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
IBM’s bet on superconducting qubits is a trade-off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
I have come to think of marriage as dishonorable, a crass trade-off rather than a free gift.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
More working men are making a trade off commonly associated with their female counterparts: sacrificing hours at work for time at home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
But for investors worried about an overconcentration in tech stocks, that trade off might be well worth it.
From Barron's ● May 7, 2026
To investigate whether this trade off was unavoidable, the Cambridge researchers intentionally created what they expected to be a poorly performing system.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2026
"Without the co-CEO structure, the trade off would have either been too great for the business, or too great for the way that we wanted to have our children and have maternity leave," she reflects.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
“You guard, I’ll unwind. We can trade off later.”
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
“We are certainly looking at the economic trade-offs between search and AI summaries,” said Reuters President Paul Bascobert.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Your daughter is old enough to learn about trade-offs.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Reforming the historic structure of multimember agencies will entail trade-offs but is worth considering as this new landscape takes shape.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
Human hands on a mixer, making trade-offs in real time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
But my father was innately cautious, aware of the trade-offs, understanding the need to maintain some savings for a rainy day.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
