Cost-Effective vs. Cost-Efficient

Cost-Effective vs. Cost-Efficient Cost-Effective vs. Cost-Efficient Cost-Effective vs. Cost-Efficient By Maeve Maddox A reader has asked about the use of these two terms: I was wondering if you would care to comment on the difference between cost-efficient and cost-effective. In both, Oxford and Webster (the free online versions), cost-effective is properly defined while the cost-efficient page points to that of cost-effective. It looks like cost-efficient is a tolerated synonym of a lesser status. As always, my starting place is The Oxford English Dictionary. There I find a reference to cost-effective in the entry for cost: cost-effective adj. designating or pertaining to a project, etc., that is effective in terms of its cost. The first OED citation given for cost-effective is dated 1967. I find no entry for cost-efficient. Merriam-Webster Unabridged provides entries for both terms: cost-effective adjective:  economical in terms of tangible benefits produced by money spent. cost-efficient adjective: cost-effective. M-W gives 1970 as the â€Å"first known use of cost-efficient.† I conclude that there is no difference of meaning between cost-effective and cost-efficient. Is one term of â€Å"lower status† than the other? The most that can be said is that one is more common than the other. The OED and M-W date the terms from 1967 and 1970, but the Ngram Viewer shows that cost-effective was present in printed sources as early as 1836. Both terms are documented in works printed in 1887. Cost-effective shows a bump on the graph in the 1940s, but then both terms remain more or less even until the 1960s, when cost-effective soars ahead. A Google search also shows a preference for cost-effective: â€Å"cost-effective†: about 83,600,000 results â€Å"cost-efficient†: about 7,840,000 results   My advice is to use the more common term: cost-effective. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Signs and Symbols You Should Know15 Types of DocumentsWords Often Misspelled Because of Double Letters