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

For that buyer the opportunity cost calculation includes a term the model never had. — Jason Kirsch, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026

But locking away $10,000 for nine months still comes with an opportunity cost, especially when high-yield savings accounts are also offering competitive rates without the same restrictions on accessing your money. — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026

Increasing the value of any one hour increases the opportunity cost for all the rest. — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026

These opportunity costs cannot be solved simply by raising the defense budget. — Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 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