null cost

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "null cost" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used in contexts related to finance, economics, or project management to indicate that there is no cost associated with a particular action or item. Example: "The new software implementation will have a null cost for the first year due to the grant funding we received."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

Formal & Business

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

9 human-written examples

The objective of this study was to validate the exploitation of spent mushroom substrate (SMS), a low or null cost organic waste derived from the industrial production of P. ostreatus, as bulking agent in a dynamic biopile pilot plant.

New Biotechnology

Even if there is a general interest in new power plants and investments in this sector are recognized, the new installations are reduced; the apparent advantage of null cost of the energy source is negatively balanced by the high drilling and installation costs.

Energy Conversion and Management

The most predictive pharmacophore model (Hypo 1), consisting of two positive ionizable points and three hydrophobic groups, had a correlation of 0.924 and a root mean square of 1.068, and a cost difference of 63.67 bits between the null cost and the total cost.

Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica

In other words, a path with less than N hops will contain self-transitions in it; clearly each self-connections is associated to a null cost so that its inclusion cannot reduce the cost.

EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing

Null cost of top 10 BChE hypotheses was 167.07 bits and configuration cost was 15.18 bits.

BioMed Research International

The null cost of top 10 AChE hypotheses was 348.99 bits, while configuration cost was 12.65 bits.

BioMed Research International

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

51 human-written examples

We explicitly show that the recovery of CMB B-modes is possible even if they are well below the foreground level, working at the arcminute resolution at an almost null computational cost.

New Astronomy Reviews

There is no relationship between the experimental and predicted biological activities for the calculation of null hypotheses cost.

BioMed Research International

Simplifying the enemy fitness W for null fitness costs of adaptation (see Methods, Eq. 1a for k = e = 0) gives W = W0+ dP(1+ T- I) where T = R+ B is the total investment in physiological and behavioral adaptations (respectively R and B) and I = BR is the interference between physiological and behavioral adaptations.

BMC Evolutionary Biology

A night at the Null Stern Hotel costs from CHF25 (£14.50) per person including morning tea or coffee (00 41711 222 1090; zero-star-hotel.com).

The Guardian - Travel

With a sample size of 186 per group, the study will have 80% power to reject the null hypothesis that the cost of the CBT and control are not equivalent (where the difference in mean costs is +/- £150) in favour of the alternative hypothesis that the means of the two groups are equivalent, assuming the expected difference in means is £0 and the common standard deviation is £580 (from pilot data).

BMC Psychiatry

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing situations with no financial implications, use "null cost" to clearly indicate the absence of expense, especially in technical or scientific contexts.

Common error

Avoid using "null cost" when you actually mean that the cost is very low but not entirely absent. "Null cost" implies a complete absence of expenses, whereas "minimal cost" acknowledges a small expense.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "null cost" primarily functions as an adjective phrase, modifying a noun to indicate that there is no associated expense. Ludwig AI confirms that this phrase is acceptable in written English. Examples from Ludwig show its usage in scientific and technical contexts.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

70%

Formal & Business

20%

News & Media

10%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "null cost" is a phrase used to denote the complete absence of financial expense. As confirmed by Ludwig AI, it's grammatically correct and most frequently encountered in scientific and formal contexts. While alternatives like "zero cost" or "no cost" exist, "null cost" carries a slightly more technical connotation. When employing this phrase, ensure that there genuinely are no costs involved, differentiating it from scenarios where the cost is merely minimal. Its proper use enhances clarity in financial and technical discussions.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

Zero cost

Replaces "null" with "zero", a common synonym for indicating nothing or none.

No cost

Uses "no" to directly express the absence of cost.

Cost-free

Combines "cost" and "free" into a single adjective, emphasizing the lack of expense.

Without cost

Uses a prepositional phrase to indicate the absence of cost.

At no cost

Similar to "without cost", but using a slightly different preposition.

Free of charge

A more formal expression indicating that something is provided at no expense.

Free

A shorter way to describe something that doesn't imply costs.

Complimentary

Suggests that something is provided as a courtesy, without charge.

At no expense

Highlights that there is no financial burden associated.

Gratis

A less common, Latin-derived term for "free".

FAQs

How can I use "null cost" in a sentence?

You can use "null cost" to describe activities or resources that do not incur any expenses. For instance, "The environmental impact assessment had a "null cost" due to volunteer work".

What are some alternatives to "null cost"?

Some alternatives to "null cost" include "zero cost", "no cost", or "cost-free". The best choice depends on the specific context.

Is there a difference between "null cost" and "no cost"?

While both phrases convey the absence of cost, "null cost" is often used in more technical or scientific settings, whereas "no cost" is more common in general usage.

When is it appropriate to use "null cost" instead of "free"?

Use "null cost" when you want to emphasize the complete absence of financial expenditure in a formal or technical context. "Free" is suitable for more general situations, while in contexts related to accounting or formal reports you may prefer "null cost".