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:
—Alphabet and Tesla’s capital expenditure lift broadly helped Asian stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Retatrutide works by mimicking three gut hormones, which helps regulate appetite and can increase a person’s energy expenditure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The company also increased its capital expenditure estimate for the full year to as much as $205 billion, a jump from $190 billion last quarter.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
The nectar return has to make the expenditure of energy worthwhile.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Through sheer, savage will, Minya poured even her life force into the colossal expenditure of magic necessary to hold on to her ghosts and keep her charges safe—and not just safe but loved.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Ugarte has benefited from nearly $1 million in independent expenditures, which differ from campaign contributions, with Airbnb contributing $302,000 to support his candidacy and the California Apartment Assn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Analysts are forecasting that Amazon’s capital expenditures will rise to $48.2 billion from $32.2 billion, while Microsoft’s are expected to increase to $35.1 billion from $17.8 billion and Meta’s to $33.7 billion from $17.6 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Moody’s Ratings said last week it expects AI-related capital expenditures from the hyperscalers to reach $1 trillion next year.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Exact ammunition expenditures and remaining stockpiles remain classified.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Such pleas, inevitably, were ignored, and members of Congress would gather in wood-paneled committee rooms and spend hours examining in minute detail the Osage’s expenditures, as if the country’s security were at stake.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
