noun
-
something expended, such as time or money
-
the act of expending
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of expenditure
1760–70; < Medieval Latin expendit ( us ) laid out, paid (variant of expēnsus, past participle of expendere; see expend) + -ure
Explanation
In a trip budget, you need to add up all your expenditures, such as hotel, car rental and food costs against the money you have brought to spend. An expenditure is money spent on something. Expenditure is often used when people are talking about budgets. It is the government's job to decide what to do with tax money collected, or in other words, to determine the expenditure of public funds. The word is more than a long way of saying expense. In business, an expenditure implies an investment, something that will bring value over time.
Vocabulary lists containing expenditure
100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Theodore Roosevelt on "New Nationalism" (1910)
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Economics
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Elevated capital expenditure and operating costs related to artificial-intelligence infrastructure are also weighing on earnings, they add.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Amazon has said it plans to spend $220 billion on capital expenditure this year, almost double what it spent in 2025.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Candidates would have to abide by certain expenditure limits and follow strict criteria.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The closely watched personal consumption expenditure gauge came in at a below-forecast 3.4 percent, while the Commerce Department revised upwards its estimate for second-quarter economic growth thanks to the artificial intelligence investment boom.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
They discounted the boy’s protests for their impracticality and sought to rationalize expenditure.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Operating cash flow rose 85% from a year earlier to $4.7 billion, but capital expenditures more than doubled to $5.8 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Both artificial-intelligence companies are working toward initial public offerings amid skyrocketing capital expenditures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
A company’s free-cash-flow yield is its remaining cash flow after capital expenditures, or spending on physical assets.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
A softer-than-expected U.S. personal-consumption expenditures reading released end-September likely tempered Federal Reserve rate-hike bets in October, Société Générale says in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The present King of France has waged many wars without imposing extraordinary taxes on his subjects, only because his habitual parsimony has provided for the additional expenditures.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
