marginal cost

American

noun

Economics.

the cost of one additional unit of any item produced or bought in quantity.

marginal cost Cultural

The change in total cost of production when an output is varied by one unit.

Etymology

Origin of marginal cost

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.

Once trained and deployed, AI systems can be rolled out across regions at relatively low marginal cost, creating operating leverage even if order growth slows.

From Barron's

“While higher margins increase the marginal cost of trading, they are unlikely to halt gains, especially as investors also push cash prices higher,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment-strategy director at U.S.

From MarketWatch

In the U.S., we are focused on driving the marginal cost of intelligence to zero, as Henry put it.

From Barron's

Based on where AI is now, the marginal cost of intelligence in white-collar work is going to zero over the next several years.

From Barron's

Ellenbogen: I don’t think you can overestimate the importance of the marginal cost of intelligence heading to zero, and the opportunity, agility, and efficiency it will create in service and knowledge work.

From Barron's

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