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

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

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

The difficulty and expense of the various alternatives increases “the attractiveness of a resource that’s already operating and producing clean energy around the clock,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

The setlist is largely pulled from 2024's Eternal Sunshine album - at the expense of major hits like God Is A Woman, Problem and Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Against problems of that scale, a $10 student planner is a tiny expense.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

But he complained of the extra expense and being "deprived of the current technology".

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

“At that time, foolish jokes at the crawlers’ expense may make the difference between our existence and our annihilation.

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins

When the owner of a nearby mobile-home park sold his land, he told his renters they had to leave, and that each would receive $20,000 in moving expenses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Within days, the moving expenses were upped to $50,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Carradine’s family and estate are seeking unspecified general and wrongful-death damages and compensation for medical expenses incurred during his hospitalization.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

The company, G3 Enterprises, said the challenges faced by the broader wine industry — declining consumer demand, inflation, rising expenses and increased competition — prompted the cuts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

At times it has been a burden, of course, because he was also sending money home to his parents to help with their expenses, and to Wil, and to Cor.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

A startup founder who expensed “cellulite butter” to the bank during her trial for defrauding the bank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Using a three-year depreciation schedule means that $300 million in data-center equipment gets expensed at $100 million a year.

From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025

Asked why he expensed Uber rides when he had a take-home car provided by the union, he said the rides were for members doing union business.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 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

That 100% expensing provision was restored and made permanent last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

It’s even more of a victory given how the 2025 tax cut incorporated full expensing of equipment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

They should improve upon the investment provisions in the tax act by making all the expensing provisions permanent, for instance.

From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026

Instead of expensing capex all at once, it happens over several years.

From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 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

Related Words

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