capital expenditure

American  

noun

Accounting, Finance.

1. an addition to the value of fixed assets, as by the purchase of a new building.

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capital expenditure British  

noun

1. expenditure on acquisitions of or improvements to fixed assets

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capital expenditure Cultural  

1. The purchase of an asset by a firm.

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Etymology

Origin of capital expenditure

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

capital expenditure

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet next week, or in the Middle East — the market’s best hope for big upside is a peak in hyperscaler capital expenditure, the strategists say.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

While they are not worried about 2027 earnings per share, they expressed concerns that AI capital expenditure would slow, eating into 2028 earnings.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

The Chinese technology company’s capital-efficient strategy aims to achieve higher growth with relatively lower capital expenditure, reducing need to issue new shares, she says in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

The management attributed the suspension to frontloaded capital expenditure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

To this must be added the consumption of iron and its replacement, which would have to be written off capital expenditure.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 799, April 25, 1891 by Various