opportunity cost
noun Economics.
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.
Origin of opportunity cost
First recorded in 1910–15
Words nearby opportunity cost
opportunism,
opportunist,
opportunistic,
opportunistic infection,
opportunity,
opportunity cost,
opportunity shop,
opposable,
opposable thumb,
oppose,
opposed-cylinder
British Dictionary definitions for opportunity cost
opportunity cost
noun
economics
the benefit that could have been gained from an alternative use of the same resource