at the expense of

1. Also, at one's expense.

2. Paid for by someone, as in The hotel bill for the sales force is at the expense of the company . [Mid-1600s]

3. To the detriment or injury of a person or thing, as in We can't speed up production at the expense of quality , or The laughter was all at Tom's expense . [Late 1600s]

Example Sentences

“There are substantial non-tuition costs and sometimes I actually feel like we focus too much on tuition at the expense of discussion about some of these other cost increases that, again, are part of the total cost of attendance.”

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“Perhaps that is because your plans are all at the expense of other creatures. If not for you, Bertha would be on the African savannah right now, doing—well, whatever it is ostriches like to do. As for the children, I will never permit them to be part of your exhibitions.”

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While that certainly made sense during the crisis, it came at the expense of tasks that require collaboration, such as group projects, helping colleagues and mentoring new hires.

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"This will get Britain building the 1.5 million homes we desperately need to restore the dream of homeownership, and not at the expense of nature."

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Those retailers’ gains have come at the expense of Target Corp.

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