noun
-
something expended, such as time or money
-
the act of expending
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
In an early August poll commissioned by an independent expenditure group supporting Bass, the mayor had the edge, 41% to 35%, with 24% undecided.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
The company said fuel represents about a third of its costs and has increased expenditure by about £40,000 a week.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Rising free cash flow and falling capital expenditure should bolster capacity for additional dividends and share buybacks, says Euroz Hartleys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
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
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
"Even if you receive the maximum maintenance loan rate, it may not be enough to cover both rent and other daily expenditures."
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
This year, the company is on track for between $130 billion and $145 billion in capital expenditures, or spending on physical assets such as data centers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Authority board members and an outside peer review group also have questioned decisions and expenditures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
"The big four hyperscalers, which include Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet, have spent roughly $900 billion in the last two years on capital expenditures for AI," Brooks noted.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
It represents, in short, a substantial segment of today’s expenditures for health.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
