In economics, a sunk cost is a cost that has already been incurred, and therefore cannot be avoided by any strategy going forward.
Any expenditure that has already taken place and can not be undone. Decisions should not be made based on sunk costs.
A cost that has already been incurred and cannot be reversed, which therefore cannot be avoided by current or future action. Sunk costs should therefore be irrelevant to current decisions.
is the cost expended that cannot be retrieved on a product or service.
A cost already incurred that is not able to be affected by subsequent actions and thus has no relevance in evaluating future decisions.
A cash outlay that has already been incurred and which cannot be recovered regardless of whether the project is accepted or rejected.
Capital costs and other expenditure already invested in the project
a cost that had been incurred and cannot be recovered
Cost already incurred which cannot be recovered regardless of future events.
a cost that has already been incurred and that cannot be changed by any decision made now or in the future
an outlay that already has been committed or that already has occurred and hence it cannot be recovered regardless of whether the project is accepted or rejected
A previously incurred and irreversible cost. (p. 14)
Past expenditures. Typically these are considered irrelevant to future decisions.
A cost which has already been incurred and which cannot now be recovered.
A cost that has already occurred and cannot be removed. Because sunk costs are in the past, such costs should be ignored when deciding whether to accept or reject a project.
A cost incurred in the past that will not be affected by any present or future decision. Sunk costs should be ignored in determining whether a new investment is worthwhile. [GAO
a cost that has been incurred and cannot be recovered
historical cost - a cost that is not relevant when comparing decisions because it has already been payed
Sunk cost are the past expenditures for a given activity that are typically irrelevant in whole or in part to future decisions. The "sunk cost fallacy" is an attempt to recoup spent dollars by spending still more dollars in the future.
In economics and in business decision-making, sunk costs are costs that have already been incurred and which cannot be recovered to any significant degree. Sunk costs are sometimes contrasted with variable costs, which are the costs that will change due to the proposed course of action. In microeconomic theory, only variable costs are relevant to a decision.