at the expense of

idiom

: in a way that harms (something or someone)
Malls flourished at the expense of small stores downtown.
He argues that the tax cut will benefit the rich at the expense of the poor.

Examples of at the expense of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the final days of the campaign, Citizen’s Movement (MC), a minor party with a progressive platform, has seen steady growth in the polls at the expense of Sheinbaum’s considerable lead. Alex González Ormerod, TIME, 30 May 2024 Within the ranks, the departure of right-leaning officers and servicemen put off by vaccine mandates and left-wing political trainings has shifted the military’s composition left at the expense of service quality. Jacob Hornstein, National Review, 26 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for at the expense of 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'at the expense of.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near at the expense of

Cite this Entry

“At the expense of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at%20the%20expense%20of. Accessed 2 Jun. 2024.

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