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
H. S. White2
: 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
There are trade-offs, but everyone adopted the glass sandwich for a reason.
—Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 28 Mar. 2025
Then there’s the constant trade-off between speed and intelligence.
—Theo Schnitfink, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Get comfortable with the reality that there are trade-offs everywhere.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2025
The game might look better, but as any competitive player will tell you, the trade-off in input delay just isn’t worth it.
—Luke Larsen, Wired News, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trade-off
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.
Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 28 Mar. 2025
Then there’s the constant trade-off between speed and intelligence.
—Theo Schnitfink, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Get comfortable with the reality that there are trade-offs everywhere.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2025
The game might look better, but as any competitive player will tell you, the trade-off in input delay just isn’t worth it.
—Luke Larsen, Wired News, 27 Mar. 2025
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 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share