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  • Word comparison: trade-off vs. opportunity cost

trade-off vs. opportunity cost

trade-off

noun

  1. the exchange of one thing for another of more or less equal value, especially to effect a compromise.

opportunity cost

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.