noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 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. 2
   an exchange that occurs as a compromise wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

compromisecompromisetrade offtrade-off

Example

More examples

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

Etymology

Deverbal from trade off.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.