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
Sharpton accused Wall Street of benefiting from government tax cuts at the expense of Medicaid, food assistance and other federal programs that provide a safety net for the needy.
—
John Bacon, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Abe had much explaining to do to Liberal Democratic Party elders as Trump palled around with North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Un at the expense of Japan’s national security interests.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The stocks have been mostly in the red so far this quarter amid worries that AI is going to make software creation much easier at the expense of big software companies’ competitive edge.
—Alex Veiga, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2025
The city is currently implementing the 39 recommendations and has managed to lower the population below capacity, but that has done little to appease advocates, who say a slew of alarming incidents since the audit demonstrate mismanagement persists at the expense of the animals’ welfare.
—Devan Patel, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2025
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John Bacon, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Abe had much explaining to do to Liberal Democratic Party elders as Trump palled around with North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Un at the expense of Japan’s national security interests.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The stocks have been mostly in the red so far this quarter amid worries that AI is going to make software creation much easier at the expense of big software companies’ competitive edge.
—Alex Veiga, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2025
The city is currently implementing the 39 recommendations and has managed to lower the population below capacity, but that has done little to appease advocates, who say a slew of alarming incidents since the audit demonstrate mismanagement persists at the expense of the animals’ welfare.
—Devan Patel, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for 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 31 Aug. 2025.
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