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

Expense is also a barrier to Australia's success being replicated in low and middle-income nations, who might not have the resources or the healthcare systems to support the push to elimination, researchers say.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

Expense ratios are shown in the rightmost column.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026

YTD total return: 22% Yield: 2.1% Assets under management: $651 million Expense ratio: 0.15%

From Barron's • Dec. 10, 2025

Expense growth will also accelerate in the second half of 2022 but remain in the low-single-digit range, and mortgage growth will slow but stay in the high-single digits, Scotiabank executives said.

From Reuters • May 25, 2022

Therefore, Notice is hereby given, That Classics, Mathematics, Writing and Accompts, etc., will be taught free of any Expense to any Person in the Kingdom.

From A History of Giggleswick School From its Foundation, 1499 to 1912 by Bell, Edward Allen

Related Words

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