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

Detailed safety results released on Saturday should help clarify the trade-offs of adding the vaccine to the immunotherapy regimen. — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

That represents one of the trade-offs of access in Washington. — Lucas Laursen, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2026

Wideband, multiband, and electronically tunable antennas enable multifrequency operation, but each involves different design trade-offs. — New Atlas, 22 Oct. 2026

Our approach is not to choose between energy security and sustainability, but to remove that false trade-off through system design, built on four elements. — H.e. Dr Abdulla Saif Al Jarwan, Fortune, 21 Oct. 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