1
: a balancing of factors all of which are not attainable at the same time
Governments face a trade-off between privacy and increasing the effectiveness of tax collection.—
Ricardo Perez-Truglia and Ugo Troiano
Ricardo Perez-Truglia and Ugo Troiano2
: a giving up of one thing in return for another : exchange
trade off
transitive verb
Examples of trade-off in a Sentence
a trade-off in which a company got a celebrity spokesperson and a fading star got some much-needed cash
Recent Examples on the Web
That's the same trade-off institutional investors have made for a long period of time.
—Hugh Leask, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026
The trade-off is significant, though.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2026
The advance could simplify the design of all-solid-state lithium batteries, which typically struggle with a trade-off between fast ion transport and mechanical stability.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Mar. 2026
Her work represented a legitimate trade-off.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for trade-off
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Hugh Leask, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026
The trade-off is significant, though.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2026
The advance could simplify the design of all-solid-state lithium batteries, which typically struggle with a trade-off between fast ion transport and mechanical stability.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Mar. 2026
Her work represented a legitimate trade-off.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for trade-off
Cite this Entry
“Trade-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trade-off. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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