at the cost of
idiom
: by giving up or hurting (something else)
She completed the project on time but at the cost of her health.
Examples of at the cost of in a Sentence
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Still, the Oilers have Emberson in a depth role and then augmented the blue line last March by adding Jake Walman — at the cost of a 2026 first-round pick.
—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
And that system must be taken on at the cost of family, at the cost of friendship, at the cost of decency, at the cost of basic human capacity for success.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
Piastri started in third place on the grid, two places ahead of Norris who started well, passing Kimi Antonelli in fourth and slipping past Piastri too, but at the cost of clipping his teammate and damaging his own front wing.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
As my colleague Lila Shapiro found in her reporting over the summer, peace has long been made with the trade-off of cheaper, faster output at the cost of subtlety and craft.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for at the cost of
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
And that system must be taken on at the cost of family, at the cost of friendship, at the cost of decency, at the cost of basic human capacity for success.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
Piastri started in third place on the grid, two places ahead of Norris who started well, passing Kimi Antonelli in fourth and slipping past Piastri too, but at the cost of clipping his teammate and damaging his own front wing.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
As my colleague Lila Shapiro found in her reporting over the summer, peace has long been made with the trade-off of cheaper, faster output at the cost of subtlety and craft.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for at the cost of
Cite this Entry
“At the cost of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at%20the%20cost%20of. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.
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