student asking question

Is it okay to understand "cost" as "loss"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Cost" in this case is the amount of money, or price that they will have to pay. "Cost" is similar to "loss", as it usually describes the amount of money you will owe or the amount that you will lose. However, "cost" does not necessarily mean you will lose anything, because the word "cost" usually refers to the amount you will owe in the future if you decide to pay for something. However, if you use "cost" in other contexts to mean "sacrifice", this is more similar to the word "loss". Ex: That bad decision cost him his life. In this example, "cost" is similar to "loss" and refers to him losing his life, or dying.

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