tradeoff

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noun

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.”

Similar
compromisetrade-off
Less commonScrabble 15
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Meanings

nountradeoff (plural tradeoffs)

plural tradeoffs · alternative trade-off

  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.

    Synonyms: compromise

Synonyms & antonyms

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

Similar
compromise

More synonyms by meaning

nounan exchange that occurs as a compromise

Similar
trade-off
Broader
exchangeinterchange
Also see
trade-off

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Deverbal from trade off.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tradeoff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tradeoff

MLA

“tradeoff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tradeoff. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tradeoff,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tradeoff.

Source: tradeoff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.