noun
-
something expended, such as time or money
-
the act of expending
Other Word Forms
- overexpenditure noun
- preexpenditure noun
- superexpenditure noun
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"
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Theodore Roosevelt on "New Nationalism" (1910)
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Economics
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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.
Both of those numbers were overshadowed by the $2.5 million given by Sokoloff’s mother, Sheryl Sokoloff, to an independent expenditure committee supporting him.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
The new charge sheets include allegations that Hanna tricked one man into paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditure on her behalf, telling him she would repay him and make him her stepson.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
But like a world-class athlete accustomed to extreme rigor, he seemed unfazed by the expenditure of energy.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
TSMC’s capital expenditure forecast will be closely watched as the chip manufacturer races to keep up with soaring demand for processors.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
Lots of small seizures can be nearly as profitable, and require the expenditure of fewer investigative resources, than a few large busts.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
