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opportunity cost

[ op-er-too-ni-tee kawst ]

noun

Economics.
  1. the money or other benefits lost when pursuing a particular course of action instead of a mutually-exclusive alternative:

    The company cannot afford the opportunity cost attached to policy decisions made by the current CEO.

opportunity cost

noun

  1. economics the benefit that could have been gained from an alternative use of the same resource
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of opportunity cost1

First recorded in 1910–15
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