trade-off

noun

ˈtrād-ˌȯf 

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

2

: a giving up of one thing in return for another : exchange

trade off transitive verb

Synonyms of trade-off

• exchange

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

What’s driving the opposition, and what are the real environmental and economic trade-offs? — Bridget Shirvell, Hartford Courant, 18 July 2026

Lifting the capacity to 5,500 mAh with the existing tech comes with a trade-off… weight. — Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

If the human body has a limited energy budget, trade-offs will naturally arise when one biological process consumes more than its typical share. — Rachel Nuwer, Quanta Magazine, 17 July 2026

There are trade-offs, of course—there will doubtless be a certain number of people who like Pritzker but can’t abide Ocasio-Cortez, and vice versa. — Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 16 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for trade-off

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff

Kids Definition

trade-off

noun

ˈtrād-ˌȯf

1

: a balancing of things all of which cannot be had at the same time

2

: a giving up of one thing in return for another