expense

American  

[ik-spens] / ɪkˈspɛns /

noun

• expenses
  plural

1. cost or charge.

   the expense of a good meal.

   Synonyms:

   expenditure, outlay

2. a cause or occasion of spending.

   A car can be a great expense.

3. the act of expending; expenditure.

4. expenses,

   1. charges incurred during a business assignment or trip.

   2. money paid as reimbursement for such charges.

      to receive a salary and expenses.

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verb (used with object)

• expenses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• expensed,
  past participle,  past
• expensing
  present participle

1. to charge or write off as an expense.

verb (used without object)

• expenses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• expensed,
  past participle,  past
• expensing
  present participle

1. to be expensed.

idioms

1. at the expense of, at the sacrifice of; to the detriment of.

   quantity at the expense of quality.

expense British  

/ ɪkˈspɛns /

noun

1. a particular payment of money; expenditure

2. money needed for individual purchases; cost; charge

3. (plural) incidental money spent in the performance of a job, commission, etc, usually reimbursed by an employer or allowable against tax

4. something requiring money for its purchase or upkeep

   the car was more of an expense than he had expected

5. to the detriment of

   he succeeded at the expense of his health

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verb

1. (tr) to treat as an expense for book-keeping or tax purposes

expense More Idioms  

1. see at the expense of; go to the trouble (expense); money (expense) is no object.

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Synonym Usage

See price.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preexpense
  noun
• expenseless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• expenses
  plural

Participles

• expensing
  present
• expensed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• expense
  simple
• expenses
  simple
• have expensed
  perfect
• has expensed
  perfect
• am expensing
  progressive
• are expensing
  progressive
• is expensing
  progressive
• have been expensing
  perfect progressive
• has been expensing
  perfect progressive

Past

• expensed
  simple
• had expensed
  perfect
• was expensing
  progressive
• were expensing
  progressive
• had been expensing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will expense
  simple
• will have expensed
  perfect
• will be expensing
  progressive
• will have been expensing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of expense

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin expēnsa, noun use of feminine of expēnsus, past participle of expendere “to weigh out, pay”; see expend

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Explanation

An expense is a cost, but you can also use this word to mean the figurative cost of something. If you find it embarrassing to dress up as Santa, you might say that you do it to amuse your nephews, at the expense of your pride. When you give one thing up in order to get something else, its cost or sacrifice is the expense of getting what you want. You might worry that politicians want to cut taxes at the expense of schools that need money, or that oil companies increase drilling at the expense of the environment. The root of expense the Latin expendere, "to weigh out money or pay down."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

expense expenses expensed expensing

Some who saw Oxford’s Botley Road bridges after their unveiling said they could understand the delays and expense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

It is important that teenage girls, especially, get enough iron and calcium, so Ludlam-Raine says not to become overly focused on protein at the expense of other nutrients.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Housing remains the biggest monthly expense for most people, and having to pay rent in your 60s does not make retirement any easier.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Wright, the center’s attorney, confirmed to The Times that the apartment was considered an expense and not part of the CEO’s compensation, and therefore Adelkoff did not have to pay taxes on it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Only later, inspecting the bill, would we realize that some of these items were being flown in at great expense from overseas.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Hunt is turning to price increases to recoup costs, executives said on a call after the Lowell, Ark., company posted higher year-over-year profit in the third quarter, despite the higher expenses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Consider this example: A service brings in $100 and costs $60 to deliver, leaving $40 before other expenses.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

The university had long spent more than it brought in, driven by rising athletics costs, pandemic expenses and major legal settlements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Still, lots of ETFs that seemed dirt-cheap 20 years ago when compared with mutual funds now seem like rip-offs alongside newer ETFs whose expenses are far lower.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

It looks like Elisha covered the woman’s expenses until she gave birth, then went on with his life, forgetting both her and their child.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

The company also expects to receive $126 million in pretax tariff refunds for trade duties expensed this year and last.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Foreign-based expenses still must be expensed over 15 years.

From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026

“Edison will go to the California Utility Commission and say, ‘We need this money to be expensed in rates.’”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025

But LaPierre conceded he wrongly expensed private flights for his family and accepted vacations from vendors doing business with the nonprofit gun rights organization without disclosing them.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2024

There were at Athens various funds, applicable to public purposes; one of which, and among the most considerable, was appropriated for the expensed of sacrifices, processions, festivals, spectacles, and of the theatres.

From The Mirror Of Literature, Amusement, And Instruction Volume 14, No. 391, September 26, 1829 by Various

Zion Research Group, which specializes in accounting and taxes, estimates the latest 100% expensing provision was worth $31.8 billion last year to Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Oracle combined, relative to the expiring provision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Bodner was fired after expensing a Super Bowl platter, complete with deli meats, cookies and Buffalo wings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

That stimulus includes tax refunds, 100% expensing of business investment, mortgage-backed securities purchases and financial deregulation, they noted.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026

“Compliance costs associated with tracking incremental qualified R&D for the credit are higher than expensing qualified R&D activity to take the deduction,” Watson says.

From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026

By being placed in the centre of the clearing, an assault could not be made without expensing the assailants, and the spring always assured to the garrison the great requisite, water.

From Wyandotte by James Fenimore Cooper

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Related Words

• amount
• budget
• charge
• consumption
• debt
• expenditure
• insurance
• investment
• liability
• loan
• loss
• mortgage
• obligation
• outlay
• payroll
• price
• price tag
• rate
• risk
• spending

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