expense

[ik-spens]

noun

1. cost or charge.

   the expense of a good meal.

   Synonyms: expenditure, outlay

2. a cause or occasion of spending.

   A car can be a great expense.

3. the act of expending; expenditure.

4. expenses,

   1. charges incurred during a business assignment or trip.

   2. money paid as reimbursement for such charges.

      to receive a salary and expenses.

verb (used with object)

expensed, expensing 

1. to charge or write off as an expense.

verb (used without object)

expensed, expensing 

1. to be expensed.

expense

/ ɪkˈspɛns /

noun

1. a particular payment of money; expenditure

2. money needed for individual purchases; cost; charge

3. (plural) incidental money spent in the performance of a job, commission, etc, usually reimbursed by an employer or allowable against tax

4. something requiring money for its purchase or upkeep

   the car was more of an expense than he had expected

5. to the detriment of

   he succeeded at the expense of his health

verb

1. (tr) to treat as an expense for book-keeping or tax purposes

Other Word Forms

• expenseless adjective
• preexpense noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of expense¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin expēnsa, noun use of feminine of expēnsus, past participle of expendere “to weigh out, pay”; expend

Word History and Origins

Origin of expense¹

C14: from Late Latin expēnsa, from Latin expēnsus weighed out; see _expend

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at the expense of, at the sacrifice of; to the detriment of.

   quantity at the expense of quality.

see at the expense of; go to the trouble (expense); money (expense) is no object.

Synonym Study

See price.

Example Sentences

“They’ve dropped numerous networks in recent years at the expense of their customers, who continue to lose content.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Federal worker salaries were part of the list of expenses that’s been pushed to the end of the year.

Read more on Barron's

The outlook continues to assume about $90 million in tariff expenses for the year, which represents about 1.7% of net sales.

Read more on MarketWatch

Excluding certain expenses associated with bankruptcy acquired leases, adjusted earnings were $1.80 a share, ahead of the company’s August forecast for up to $1.60 a share.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A spokesman for Reeves said she had no knowledge of the investigation, always complied with expenses rules and left the bank on good terms.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• amount 
• budget 
• charge 
• consumption 
• debt 
• expenditure 
• insurance 
• investment 
• liability 
• loan 
• loss 
• mortgage 
• obligation 
• outlay 
• payroll 
• price 
• price tag 
• rate 
• risk 
• spending www.thesaurus.com