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

The trade-off, however, is that salaries in their new home also are likely to be lower. —Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 1 Apr. 2026

Other companies are being forced to make trade-offs when deciding where to place their bets. —Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 1 Apr. 2026

Each comes with trade-offs in durability, insulation, light transmission and cost. —Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026

Video quality and pictures are a little softer and show a narrower field of view at 60 fps, but that's a reasonable trade-off to get slow motion. —Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 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