Expense Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of EXPENSE is financial burden or outlay : cost. How to use expense in a sentence. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut expense noun SaveWord ex·​pense |\ik-ˈspen(t)s \ Definitionofexpense (Entry1of2) 1a :financialburdenoroutlay:cost builtthemonumentattheirownexpense b :anitemofbusinessoutlaychargeableagainstrevenueforaspecificperiod c :somethingexpendedtosecureabenefitorbringaboutaresult 2 :acauseoroccasionofexpenditure anestateisagreatexpense 3 :aloss,detriment,orembarrassmentthatresultsfromsomeactionorgain:sacrifice everyonehadagoodlaughatmyexpense —usuallyusedinthephraseattheexpenseofdevelopaboy'sphysiqueattheexpenseofhisintelligence—BertrandRussell 4 archaic :theactoraninstanceofexpending:expenditure expense verb expensed;expensing Definitionofexpense (Entry2of2) transitiveverb 1a :tochargetoanexpenseaccount b :towriteoffasanexpense 2 :tochargewithexpenses Synonyms MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContainingexpense LearnMoreAboutexpense Synonymsforexpense Synonyms:Noun charge,cost,disbursement,expenditure,outgo,outlay VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofexpenseinaSentence Noun Idon'tthinkafirst-classticketisworththeaddedexpense. Theannualfeeissimplyanexpenseofdoingbusiness. Anewcarisamajorexpense. RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun Otherwiseworkerswouldclaimanever-largershareoftheeconomicpieattheexpenseofbusinessowners. — TomFairless,WSJ,18Sep.2022 Failuretodosodonatescollectivepowertotheselectindividualswhohaveenoughpowertowield,oftenattheexpenseofthevulnerable. — RachelDonald,TheNewRepublic,17Sep.2022 Inthedarkcomedy,HawkeplaysEleanor,awealthyoutcastwhocomestogetherwithMendes’scharacterDrea,aninsiderexperiencingafallfromsocialgrace,allattheexpenseoftheirprepschoolenemies. — ArdenFanningAndrews,Vogue,16Sep.2022 Barbernotesthatsmalldesignersinthefashionworldareoftenpricedoutofcompetitionwhentheirdesignsarestolenandpopulartrendsoftencomeattheexpenseofunderpaidorpoorlytreatedgarmentworkers. — CtJones,RollingStone,15Sep.2022 Allthreerelyongovernmentspendingtofosterlow-carbonenergysourcesattheexpenseoffossilfuelsandadvancethecountries’promisestoreduceemissions. — JustinWorland,Time,15Sep.2022 Additionally,thecommitteewouldlookintowhethertheBidenadministrationsoughttogetevacueesoutenmasseattheexpenseofprioritizingAmericancitizensandservicemembers. — FoxNews,14Sep.2022 Butthearcofthisfifthseasonisill-suitedtothemoment,morenarrowlyfocusedonthebondofhatredbetweenJuneandSerena,attheexpenseofalmosteverythingelse. — BrianLowry,CNN,14Sep.2022 Thescathing90-pagereportsaidtheT’sfocusinrecentyearsonlong-termprojectscameattheexpenseofday-to-dayoperationsandsafetyandhaslefttheagencywithtoofewworkersandweaksafeguards. — LauraCrimaldi,BostonGlobe.com,14Sep.2022 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb TheHouseBuildBackBetterplanwouldhaveextendeduntil2026ataxprovisionthatexpiredthisyearthatallowedbusinessestoexpenseR&Dimmediately. — TheEditorialBoard,WSJ,4Aug.2022 Oneofthebiggestdifferencesbetweenbookandtaxincomeishowcompaniesexpensetheirinvestments. — RobPortman,WSJ,3Aug.2022 Butthetaxwouldcoveraccelerateddepreciation,whichletscompaniesimmediatelyexpenseinvestmentinequipment. — TheEditorialBoard,WSJ,4Aug.2022 Thiscamcorderhasplentyofprofessionalfeaturestoexpensesuchas2-channelXLRaudio,triplemanualrings,anNDfilter,dualSDcardslots,andagreatbatterylife. — DouglasHelm,PopularMechanics,19June2022 Somecompaniesexpensethecreditsatthetimeofpurchase,whileotherscapitalizeandwritethemofflater. — MarkMaurer,WSJ,25May2022 GivingBack:ThecompanyrecentlylauncheditsPayItForwardpolicy,whichallowsemployeestoexpenseanyrandomactsofkindnesswhiletravelingforbusiness. — NickDavidson,OutsideOnline,1Oct.2014 EmployeesofthecompanyareencouragedtoexpensetheirannualNationalParksPasseachyear,aswellasuptotwonightspermonthcampingandanadditionaltwonightspermonthatanyCampShare. — JackKelly,Forbes,18Mar.2022 Oneofherconcernsisthatstaffers’addressesandotherpersonalinformationmightlingerontheInternet,sothenewspaperhasadvisedthemtoengageservicesthatscrubthatmaterialfrompublicviewandexpensethecosttothenewspaper. — WashingtonPost,27Jan.2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'expense.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. PhrasesContainingexpense atsomeone'sexpense expenseaccount sparenoexpense goto(the)expense attheexpenseof atsomeone'sexpense expenseaccount sparenoexpense goto(the)expense attheexpenseof FirstKnownUseofexpense Noun 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense4Verb circa1909,inthemeaningdefinedatsense2 HistoryandEtymologyforexpense Noun MiddleEnglish,fromAnglo-FrenchorLateLatin;Anglo-French,fromLateLatinexpensa,fromLatin,feminineofexpensus,pastparticipleofexpendere LearnMoreAboutexpense Shareexpense PosttheDefinitionofexpensetoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofexpenseonTwitter TimeTravelerforexpense Thefirstknownuseofexpensewas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearexpense expenditure expense expenseaccount SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforexpense LastUpdated 20Sep2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Expense.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expense.Accessed22Sep.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforexpense expense noun ex·​pense |\ik-ˈspens \ KidsDefinitionofexpense 1 :somethingspentorrequiredtobespent:cost 2 :acauseforspending Acarcanbeagreatexpense. expense noun ex·​pense Legal Definitionofexpense (Entry1of2) :financialburdenoroutlay specifically :anitemofbusinessoutlaychargeableagainstrevenueforaspecificperiod — businessexpense :anexpensemadeinfurtheranceofone'sbusinessespeciallyaspartofthecostofoperatingabusinessinthetaxableyearinwhichtheexpenseisincurred—comparecapitalexpenseandpersonalexpenseinthisentry Note: Businessexpensesaregenerallytaxdeductibleintheyeartheexpenseisincurred. — capitalexpense :anexpensemadeinabusinessthatwillprovidealong-termbenefit:capitalexpenditure Note: Capitalexpensesarenottaxdeductibleasbusinessexpensesbutmaybeusedfordepreciationoramortization. — movingexpense :anexpenseincurredinchangingone'sresidencethatistaxdeductibleifincurredforbusinessreasons(aswhenone'sjobrequiresrelocation) — ordinaryandnecessaryexpense :anexpensethatisnormalorcustomaryandhelpfulandappropriatefortheoperationofaparticularbusinessortradeandthatismadeduringthetaxableyear —calledalso ordinaryandnecessarybusinessexpense Note: Ordinaryandnecessaryexpensesaretaxdeductible. — personalexpense :anexpenseincurredinthecourseofone'spersonalaffairsasdistinguishedfromthecourseofone'semploymentortheoperationofabusiness—comparebusinessexpenseinthisentry Note: Personalexpensesareusuallynottaxdeductible. expense transitiveverb expensed;expensing Legal Definitionofexpense (Entry2of2) 1 :tochargewithexpenses 2 :towriteoffasanexpense MorefromMerriam-Websteronexpense Nglish:TranslationofexpenseforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofexpenseforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutexpense WORDOFTHEDAY defer SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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