'Tradeoff' definitions:

Definition of 'tradeoff'

From: WordNet
noun
An exchange that occurs as a compromise; "I faced a tradeoff between eating and buying my medicine" [syn: tradeoff, trade-off]

Definition of 'Tradeoff'

From: GCIDE
  • Tradeoff \Trade"off\, Trade-off \Trade"-off\, n.
  • 1. the exchange of one thing (object, right, opportunity) for another of approximately equal value, so as to seal a bargain, or effect a compromise. [PJC]
  • 2. the giving up of one desired objective in order to attain another, when both cannot be achieved at the same time; as, the factory workers viewed the trade-off of air quality for jobs as a necessary evil. [PJC]