trade-off

as in exchange
a giving or taking of one thing of value in return for another a trade-off in which a company got a celebrity spokesperson and a fading star got some much-needed cash

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of trade-off Cutting Medicaid will force more people into these trade-offs and put their access to health care at risk — health care that can improve their well-being and even save their lives. Pia Valvassori, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2025 Burnout is a potential trade-off If your workload is heavy, compressing it into fewer days can backfire. Julia Sullivan, USA Today, 27 June 2025 In my experience, most sea salt sprays require some sort of trade-off: either tons of volume but tangles, or great wave definition but very little body. Ariel Wodarcyk, Glamour, 26 June 2025 Americans deserve an honest debate about trade-offs, rather than more debt in disguise. Linda J. Bilmes, The Conversation, 25 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for trade-off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trade-off
exchange
Noun
  • The Phoenix Suns have acquired center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for the No. 29 pick on Wednesday and a 2029 first-round pick.
    Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
  • Instead, the Wizards undercut both Florida franchises, drafted and traded Clayton to Utah in exchange for the No. 21 pick and multiple second-round picks.
    Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Trade-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trade-off. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.

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