expense

American  

[ik-spens] / ɪkˈspɛns /

noun

• expenses
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

• expenses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• expensed,
  past participle,  past
• expensing
  present participle

1. to charge or write off as an expense.

verb (used without object)

• expenses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• expensed,
  past participle,  past
• expensing
  present participle

1. to be expensed.

idioms

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

   quantity at the expense of quality.

expense British  

/ 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

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verb

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

expense More Idioms  

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

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Synonym Usage

See price.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preexpense
  noun
• expenseless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• expenses
  plural

Participles

• expensing
  present
• expensed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• expense
  simple
• expenses
  simple
• have expensed
  perfect
• has expensed
  perfect
• am expensing
  progressive
• are expensing
  progressive
• is expensing
  progressive
• have been expensing
  perfect progressive
• has been expensing
  perfect progressive

Past

• expensed
  simple
• had expensed
  perfect
• was expensing
  progressive
• were expensing
  progressive
• had been expensing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will expense
  simple
• will have expensed
  perfect
• will be expensing
  progressive
• will have been expensing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of expense

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”; see expend

Explanation

An expense is a cost, but you can also use this word to mean the figurative cost of something. If you find it embarrassing to dress up as Santa, you might say that you do it to amuse your nephews, at the expense of your pride. When you give one thing up in order to get something else, its cost or sacrifice is the expense of getting what you want. You might worry that politicians want to cut taxes at the expense of schools that need money, or that oil companies increase drilling at the expense of the environment. The root of expense the Latin expendere, "to weigh out money or pay down."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

expense expenses expensed expensing

The difficulty and expense of the various alternatives increases “the attractiveness of a resource that’s already operating and producing clean energy around the clock,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Against problems of that scale, a $10 student planner is a tiny expense.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

But he complained of the extra expense and being "deprived of the current technology".

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

“We are not trying to increase returns at the expense of risk,” McNerney said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

“I shouldn’t let her get to me. I mean, we’re talking about someone who felt the need to prove she was a badass at the expense of a random teenager asking a completely valid question.”

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Jenny Bush, president of Cummins’s power-systems business, said the Indiana-based company is expanding production in smaller increments and limiting plant expenses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Carradine’s family and estate are seeking unspecified general and wrongful-death damages and compensation for medical expenses incurred during his hospitalization.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Unlike renting, homeownership can come with new responsibilities like mowing the lawn — and new expenses like homeowners association fees.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Meanwhile, Steven’s wife, Lucy, the driven co-founder of a flourishing social-impact investment fund, pays all the expenses that come with the family’s haute Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., lifestyle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Anthony’s father, on the other hand, encouraged his daughter to speak out about issues that concerned her, and he gave her money for living expenses.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

A startup founder who expensed “cellulite butter” to the bank during her trial for defrauding the bank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Foreign-based expenses still must be expensed over 15 years.

From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026

Asked why he expensed Uber rides when he had a take-home car provided by the union, he said the rides were for members doing union business.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2025

But LaPierre conceded he wrongly expensed private flights for his family and accepted vacations from vendors doing business with the nonprofit gun rights organization without disclosing them.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2024

There were at Athens various funds, applicable to public purposes; one of which, and among the most considerable, was appropriated for the expensed of sacrifices, processions, festivals, spectacles, and of the theatres.

From The Mirror Of Literature, Amusement, And Instruction Volume 14, No. 391, September 26, 1829 by Various

Zion Research Group, which specializes in accounting and taxes, estimates the latest 100% expensing provision was worth $31.8 billion last year to Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Oracle combined, relative to the expiring provision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

It’s even more of a victory given how the 2025 tax cut incorporated full expensing of equipment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

They should improve upon the investment provisions in the tax act by making all the expensing provisions permanent, for instance.

From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026

The new law permanently provides full expensing, allowing businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of new investments, just as they do for labor or utility costs.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 7, 2026

By being placed in the centre of the clearing, an assault could not be made without expensing the assailants, and the spring always assured to the garrison the great requisite, water.

From Wyandotte by James Fenimore Cooper

Related Words

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