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.
"And we always have the trade-off -- do we put more resources or do we put more people?"
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
The U.S. diplomats offered a trade-off to Iran, the people said: Relinquish its claim to control the strait and renounce toll payments in exchange for billions of dollars of unfrozen funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 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
IBM’s bet on superconducting qubits is a trade-off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
This painful trade-off is why ecologists argue that any attempt by tropical forest societies to grow beyond small villages has always been doomed to fail.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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
That is a trade off the company is willing to make as it expects its bet on safety to pay off in the long run as users start having better interactions on their apps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
But that’s part of the trade off investors accept.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2025
“We’ll trade off, you, then me, then you, then me. Then we’ll do the other side.”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
“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
It's all bad trade-offs these days, unless, like me, you know how to mostly end up on the profitable side of things.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
