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

Investors have been closely monitoring Copilot growth as a proxy for whether Microsoft can parlay its capital expenditure into revenue-generating products for business customers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Alphabet, Tesla, Intel and IBM report earnings this week, with investors closely watching Alphabet’s capital expenditure guidance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

If capital expenditure guidance from hyperscalers remains strong, “we think investors should step back into the space over summer.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

Albanese said Australia "cannot settle for a short-term boom in capital expenditure and construction".

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

The total capital expenditure on the whole of the 100 miles of line worked by the Lough Swilly Company amounted to £727,000. 

From Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland by Tatlow, Joseph