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
Ricardo Perez-Truglia and Ugo Troiano2
: a giving up of one thing in return for another : exchange
trade off
transitive verb
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
Still, a trade-off is involved by tapping reserves.
—Samuel Petrequin, Arkansas Online, 10 Mar. 2026
Its across-the-board native cloud infrastructure and NVMe storage give it an edge over many conventional hosting providers, although HostArmada imposes stricter limits on storage, database sizes, and monthly data transfers as a trade-off.
—Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 8 Mar. 2026
Five years in the making, the plans shrink the number of bus routes but increase frequency overall, a trade-off officials say should ultimately make the system work better for more people.
—Sara Gregory, AJC.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Each approach comes with its own advantages and trade-offs.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for trade-off
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Samuel Petrequin, Arkansas Online, 10 Mar. 2026
Its across-the-board native cloud infrastructure and NVMe storage give it an edge over many conventional hosting providers, although HostArmada imposes stricter limits on storage, database sizes, and monthly data transfers as a trade-off.
—Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 8 Mar. 2026
Five years in the making, the plans shrink the number of bus routes but increase frequency overall, a trade-off officials say should ultimately make the system work better for more people.
—Sara Gregory, AJC.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Each approach comes with its own advantages and trade-offs.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for trade-off
Cite this Entry
“Trade-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trade-off. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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