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
The curve purports that there is a trade-off between unemployment and inflation.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
The trade-off is that the gut side effects tend to ease at the same time.
—Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2026
What makes this deal particularly insidious is the trade-off at its core.
—Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 10 June 2026
This is not a question of ideological differences or of the trade-offs inherent to building a diverse coalition.
—Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for trade-off
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Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
The trade-off is that the gut side effects tend to ease at the same time.
—Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2026
What makes this deal particularly insidious is the trade-off at its core.
—Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 10 June 2026
This is not a question of ideological differences or of the trade-offs inherent to building a diverse coalition.
—Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 9 June 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 Jun. 2026.
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