Definition of cost
Etymology
From Old French coster (modern: coûter).
Pronunciation
Noun
cost (plural costs)
- Amount of money, time, etc. that is required or used.
- A negative consequence or loss that occurs or is required to occur.
Derived terms
Verb
to cost (third-person singular simple present costs, present participle costing, simple past and past participle cost)
- To incur a charge, a price.
Further reading
In business, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something, and hence is not available for use anymore. In economics, a cost is an alternative that is given up as a result of a decision. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it is counted as cost. In this case, money is the input that is gone in order to acquire the thing. This acquisition cost may be the sum of the cost of production as incurred by the original producer, and further costs of transaction as incurred by the acquirer over and above the price paid to the producer. Usually, the price also includes a mark-up for profit over the cost of production.
Costs are often further described based on their timing or their applicability.
References:
- Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
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