What does "tradeoff" mean?

An advantage or improvement that necessitates the corresponding loss or degradation of something else.

Tradeoff

Common synonyms include: balancing, compromise, cost benefit evaluation, cost-benefit analysis, give-and-take, opportunity.

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
An advantage or improvement that necessitates the corresponding loss or degradation of something else.
"Improved graphics at the expense of battery life was a tradeoff the designers were willing to make."
2
an exchange that occurs as a compromise wordnet

"Improved graphics at the expense of battery life was a tradeoff the designers were willing to make."

Deverbal from trade off.