sunk cost
noun [ C usually plural ] business, finance & economics specialized uk/ˌsʌŋk ˈkɒst/ us/ˌsʌŋk ˈkɑːst/
（已经支出且无法收回的）沉没成本
money that a business or organization has already spent and cannot get back
From an economic perspective, the previous investments are sunk costs. 从经济角度来看，以前的投资都属于沉没成本。
If I abandon the project, I know that my advertising expenditure is a sunk cost. 如果我放弃这个项目，我知道自己的广告支出将会是沉没成本。
- More examples
- The investment in consolidating a market involves substantial sunk costs and should not be undertaken lightly.
- When the big casino operators took a look at the construction site and walked away, that was obviously a sign that the bank's sunk costs were never going to be recovered.
- He said the 52m euros spent on electronic voting should now be written off as a sunk cost.