What Is a Variable Cost?

As stated by W. Kenton (2021), a variable cost is a business expense that fluctuates

based on how much the organization produces or sells. Variable costs rise or fall as a
company's production or sales volume increases or declines—they climb as output
increases and fall as output drops. Variable costs include raw material and packaging
costs in manufacturing, as well as credit card transaction fees and shipping prices in
retail, which climb and fall with sales. A fixed cost is in contrast to a variable cost.

Any company's overall expenses are made up of both variable and fixed costs. Variable
costs are those that fluctuate according to production output or sales. A constant
amount per unit produced is the variable cost of production. Variable expenses will rise
as the amount of production and output grows. Conversely, as a result of fewer
products being produced, the variable costs associated with production fall.

Reference: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/variablecost.asp