Definition of trade–off
1 : a balancing of factors all of which are not attainable at the same time the education versus experience trade–off which governs personnel practices — H. S. White
2 : a giving up of one thing in return for another : exchange
trade off
transitive verbExplore M-W
First Known Use of trade–off
1909
TRADE–OFF Defined for English Language Learners
trade-off
play
noun
Definition of trade–off for English Language Learners
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: a situation in which you must choose between or balance two things that are opposite or cannot be had at the same time
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: something that you do not want but must accept in order to have something that you want
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