opportunity cost
noun[CorU]
ukusACCOUNTING,FINANCE
thevalueof theactionthat you do notchoose, whenchoosingbetween twopossibleoptions:
If we do take on theproject, we need tothinkabout theopportunitycostsinvolved.
Theopportunitycostofstudyingatuniversityfor threeyearsis the threeyearsofpaythat you do notearnduring thattime.