at a cost

phrase

: by giving up something else
He had achieved fame, but at a cost; he'd lost many friends and no longer talked to anyone in his family.

Examples of at a cost in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The spending helps keep the economy afloat amid rising inflation — but at a cost to households digging deeper into debt to stretch their paychecks. — Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 20 Oct. 2026 But those emergency defenses have come at a cost, diverting money from races Republicans once hoped to win and forcing national groups to narrow the map elsewhere. — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 Constructed at a cost to the US taxpayer of $300 million, the pier was retired after operating poorly and sporadically for just twenty days. — Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026 What is needed instead is a way to protect a less ambitious but more realistic set of interests at a cost that Americans are willing to bear. — Philip H. Gordon, Foreign Affairs, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for at a cost

Rhymes for at a cost

See All Rhymes for at a cost

Browse Nearby Words

atacamite
at a cost
atactic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“At a cost.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at%20a%20cost. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All