opportunity cost
noun/ˌɒpəˈtjuːnəti kɒst/
/ˌɑːpərˈtuːnəti kɔːst/
[countable, uncountable]- the fact that when you choose one option, you lose the potential benefits of the other options
- There may be an opportunity cost to not having your money invested elsewhere.
- Consider the opportunity cost of accepting a job because you are, by default, rejecting everything else out there.
- The programme lost money when opportunity costs were taken into account.
- We need to consider the opportunity cost represented by lost capacity at closed plants.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
opportunity cost