cost-effective

adjective

cost-ef·​fec·​tive ˈkȯst-ə-ˈfek-tiv 

-ˌfek-

: producing good results without costing a lot of money

cost-effective measures to combat poverty

Robot spot welding can be quite cost-effective …

—Harry H. Poole

cost-effectiveness noun

Examples of cost-effective in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’ll make already cost-effective medicines even more accessible for patients, and more beneficial for society. — Dr. Bowman Heiden, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026

Meanwhile, rental services such as Rent the Runway and Nuuly are seen as a cost-effective bridge option for consumers who are changing sizes every few months without committing to new retail purchases. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026

Investing in durable, cost-effective materials like vinyl plank flooring, energy-efficient lighting and low-maintenance landscaping can increase the cosmetic value of a unit without drastically altering potential tenants. — Alex Vasquez, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026

The resulting design will support scalable, cost-effective manufacturing to meet urgent defense requirements quickly. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cost-effective

• imperfective
• ineffective
• intellective
• introspective
• irrespective
• nondirective
• nonselective
• retrospective
• unreflective
• advective
• affective
• collective