Tangible Cost

"Tangible" generally means "perceptible by touch." As in: "I think someone just got tangible with me in the elevator."

It can also mean something closer to "material" or "solid" or "physical." So...a tangible cost represents a specific, identifiable expense related to a business. It's real. It's material. You can touch it. Well, you can't really touch the cost, per se...but you can touch the thing the cost bought you.

You're running a frozen banana stand. A pound of bananas costs $0.60. You need 50 pounds for today's inventory. So the cost of bananas is $30. It's a tangible cost.

The concept of "tangible cost" stands in opposition to so-called intangible costs. These include non-cash expenses...things like goodwill impairment or depreciation.