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cost-benefit

American

[kawst-ben-uh-fit, kost-] / ˈkɔstˈbɛn ə fɪt, ˈkɒst- /

adjective

of, relating to, or based on a cost-effective analysis.

cost-benefit British

adjective

denoting or relating to a method of assessing a project that takes into account its costs and its benefits to society as well as the revenue it generates

a cost-benefit analysis
the project was assessed on a cost-benefit basis

"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

Etymology

Origin of cost-benefit

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Last month federal Judge Jeremy Kernodle blocked the rule on grounds that the agency’s cost-benefit analysis was sloppy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

"And this type of analysis helps us find pain points where investments in technology can rapidly change the cost-benefit analysis."

From Science Daily • Dec. 11, 2025

The visionaries of the early Space Age didn’t worry much about solar radiation, coronal mass ejections, galactic cosmic rays, psychological stress from isolation, and cost-benefit ratios.

From Slate • Dec. 9, 2025

"So who won? No one," congressional media outlet Punchbowl News said in a cost-benefit analysis of the standoff.

From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025

“Not to mention what the bureau has sunk into a dozen planning reports, hydrographical surveys, maps, cost-benefit analysis, and—you know,” Roland Kyburz added.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023