expense

[ik-spens]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

expensed, expensing 

1. to charge or write off as an expense.

verb (used without object)

expensed, expensing 

1. to be expensed.

expense

/ 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

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• expenseless adjective
• preexpense noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of expense¹

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”; expend

Word History and Origins

Origin of expense¹

C14: from Late Latin expēnsa, from Latin expēnsus weighed out; see _expend

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

   quantity at the expense of quality.

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

Synonym Study

See price.

Example Sentences

By the time the outsourcing process was complete, Edison said, its IT expenses would fall by about 20%.

From Los Angeles Times

Soon after, the thief began asking her for money for what he said were management expenses and to fund the purchase of the home they would share.

From Los Angeles Times

"What we're looking for is helping all people on Guernsey reduce their expenses both on energy and more widely across the home," he said.

From BBC

Rather, it is a portrait of an artist at work, marshaling tremendous resources at great personal expense in pursuit of a result that remains elusive, perhaps to himself most of all.

From Los Angeles Times

Six weeks, four courts, two counties, dueling rulings and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expenses later, Paxton’s case against the former El Paso congressman seems on the brink of collapse.

From Salon

Related Words

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