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
Australian tech billionaire and climate activist Mike Cannon-Brookes has defended his company’s sponsorship of the Williams Formula 1 team and his use of a private jet, emphasizing the need for pragmatic trade-offs in the pursuit of sustainability.
—Yessar Rosendar, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Image Before the pandemic, the ruling Communist Party’s controls could feel distant to many Chinese, or a worthwhile trade-off for the country’s huge economic gains.
—Vivian Wang, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2025
Roth-only strategy could mean ‘fewer options’ While building a bucket of tax-free retirement savings is appealing to many investors, there could be some trade-offs, experts say.
—Kate Dore, Cfp®, Ea, CNBC, 8 Mar. 2025
Join 6 others in the comments View Comments In response to these challenges, narwhals may dive deeper into the ocean to hunt for larger or denser schools of fish, making the trade-off for easier catches more worthwhile, O’Corry-Crowe said.
—Julianna Bragg, CNN, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trade-off
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Yessar Rosendar, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Image Before the pandemic, the ruling Communist Party’s controls could feel distant to many Chinese, or a worthwhile trade-off for the country’s huge economic gains.
—Vivian Wang, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2025
Roth-only strategy could mean ‘fewer options’ While building a bucket of tax-free retirement savings is appealing to many investors, there could be some trade-offs, experts say.
—Kate Dore, Cfp®, Ea, CNBC, 8 Mar. 2025
Join 6 others in the comments View Comments In response to these challenges, narwhals may dive deeper into the ocean to hunt for larger or denser schools of fish, making the trade-off for easier catches more worthwhile, O’Corry-Crowe said.
—Julianna Bragg, CNN, 8 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 21 Mar. 2025.
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