opportunity cost

noun

: the added cost of using resources (as for production or speculative investment) that is the difference between the actual value resulting from such use and that of an alternative (such as another use of the same resources or an investment of equal risk but greater return)

Examples of opportunity cost in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Every report reviewed, every alert opened and every meeting attended carries an opportunity cost. — Nick Leighton, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

The opportunity cost shown by a PPF can be expressed as the amount of one good that must be given up to produce more of another. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Aug. 2026

Skubal won’t bring back as much, and the opportunity cost of not having him for the next few months could be enormous. — Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 27 July 2026

The third drawback to eliminating the tax cap is the opportunity cost. — Jessica Riedl, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for opportunity cost

• accost
• crisscrossed
• defrost
• embossed
• exhaust
• recrossed
• uncrossed
• bossed
• crossed
• dost
• glossed
• lost

Legal Definition

opportunity cost

noun

op·​por·​tu·​ni·​ty cost

: the cost of making an investment that is the difference between the return on one investment and the return on an alternative