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expense definition

ex·pense (ek spens′, ik-)

noun

  1. Obsolete the act of expending; a spending or using up
  2. financial cost; fee; charge
  3. any cost or sacrifice
    1. charges or costs met with in running a business, doing one's work, maintaining property, etc.
    2. money to pay for these charges
  5. a cause of spending; drain on one's finances a car can be a considerable expense

Etymology: ME < Anglo-Fr < LL expensa (pecunia), paid out (money) < L expensum, neut. pp. of expendere: see expend

transitive verb expensed -·pensed′, expensing -·pensing

  1. to charge or record as an expense
  2. to charge to an expense account
expense Idioms

at the expense of

with the payment, onus, loss, etc. borne by

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

business expense definition - business

idioms expense idiom

expense Synonyms

expense

n.

  1. Whatever is paid out

    expenditure, cost, price, outlay, charge, fee, payment, outgo, disbursement, alimony, child support, value, worth, sum, amount, risk, capital, rate, custom, excise, tax, carrying charge, budgeted item, cost of materials, overhead, time, payroll, investment, interest, interest charge, operating expense, surcharge, deductible expense, nondeductible expense, duty, assessment, nut*.

    Antonyms profit*, income*, receipts. *

  2. Whatever causes money to be paid out

    responsibility, obligation, loan, mortgage, lien, debt, liability, investment, insurance, upkeep, alimony, loss, enterprise, debit, account.

    Antonyms credit*, asset*, accounts receivable.

at the expense of

at the cost of, at the sacrifice of, to the loss of, to the detriment of, paid by, charged to.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

expense Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • taxpayer: It's hoped the exercise will help the council recoup money that's been fraudulently obtained at the expense of the taxpayer.

Converse of object

  • incur: Any expense incurred in such move of the Equipment within the Premises shall be incurred by the Customer.

Adjective modifier

  • out-of-pocket: Covered by a the output of out-of-pocket expenses for an extra in.

Modifies a noun

  • claim: Other Travel Expenses or Other Expenses Claims may be made for the cheapest practical method of transport.

Noun used with modifier

  • subsistence: Note that the PHF grant covers the course fee, not travel or subsistence expenses.
expense usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

expense quotes

Mothers of large families (who claim to common sense) Will find aTiger will repay the trouble and expense.

-Belloc, (Joseph) Hilaire Pierre

The pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable.

-Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of

Thou shalt have one God only: who Would be at the expense of two?

-Clough, Arthur Hugh

expense quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"expense." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/expense>

APA Style

expense. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/expense

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