opportunity cost
noun
: the added cost of using resources (as for production or speculative investment) that is the difference between the actual value resulting from such use and that of an alternative (such as another use of the same resources or an investment of equal risk but greater return)
Examples of opportunity cost in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But that protection comes at an opportunity cost — one that foreign aid once helped to offset.
—
Michael Sheldrick, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
But trading away notable assets for star players is more of an opportunity cost exercise than a sign of the trust in Young.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 12 Feb. 2025
However, spending $174 billion on a foreign war is not without its opportunity costs.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 6 Mar. 2025
This potential politicization of the military comes with opportunity costs to U.S. national security, says Joseph Nunn, counsel in the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, an independent law and policy think tank.
—Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Nov. 2024
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Michael Sheldrick, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
But trading away notable assets for star players is more of an opportunity cost exercise than a sign of the trust in Young.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 12 Feb. 2025
However, spending $174 billion on a foreign war is not without its opportunity costs.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 6 Mar. 2025
This potential politicization of the military comes with opportunity costs to U.S. national security, says Joseph Nunn, counsel in the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, an independent law and policy think tank.
—Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for opportunity cost
Cite this Entry
“Opportunity cost.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opportunity%20cost. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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