capital expenditure

American  

noun

Accounting, Finance.

1. an addition to the value of fixed assets, as by the purchase of a new building.

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capital expenditure British  

noun

1. expenditure on acquisitions of or improvements to fixed assets

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capital expenditure Cultural  

1. The purchase of an asset by a firm.

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Etymology

Origin of capital expenditure

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

capital expenditure

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet next week, or in the Middle East — the market’s best hope for big upside is a peak in hyperscaler capital expenditure, the strategists say.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Yet capital expenditure among German companies remains on the decline, with economists pointing to a lack of reform in the country’s complex regulatory system as one factor holding back investment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The upshot of this would be EPS-negative, lowering earnings per share expectations, Hartnett observes, but, overall, the political changes would challenge the K-shaped wealth boom and the surge of AI capital expenditure.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

“Especially the planned reduction in forward capital expenditure and research and development by 16%,” the bank says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

The capital expenditure has been a little over £2,000,000.

From The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir by Sir James McCrone Douie