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

Experts say the detention of the two teens in San Mateo highlights a potential — but not inevitable — trade-off between privacy and convenience. — Scott Neuman, NPR, 10 July 2026

But there’s no other way to get a glimpse into the future, and this is the trade-off that everyone is grappling with. — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 8 July 2026

The trade-off is complexity—liquidity, fees and terms look smoother, but the underlying constraints haven’t changed. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Another future problem is that as chipmakers seek taller stacks, trade-offs between storage capacity and bandwidth creep up, as Yang, a student in the laboratory of UNIST’s Jimin Kwon pointed out. — IEEE Spectrum, 8 July 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