expenditure

noun

ex·​pen·​di·​ture ik-ˈspen-di-chər 

-də-ˌchu̇r, 

-də-ˌt(y)u̇r

1

: the act or process of expending

an expenditure of energy

2

: something expended : disbursement, expense

Your income should exceed your expenditures.

Synonyms of expenditure

• expense
• cost

Examples of expenditure in a Sentence

an increase in military expenditures

an increase in military expenditure

vast expenditures of time and effort

The energy expenditure was significant.

the expenditure of funds for the new school

The project will require an expenditure of effort on everyone's part.

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the district’s chief business officer Gerardo Castillo, Sac City Unified’s initial report included only its 2025-26 expenditures and left out spending from 2024-25. — Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026

One major tech name leading the losses was Meta, which slumped nearly 7% on Thursday as the social media giant showed negative free cash flow in its third-quarter earnings and raised the floor of its full-year capital expenditures. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

Yet the security crisis and higher fuel costs are pushing expenditure up faster than oil revenues. — Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Several groups are also running independent expenditure campaigns for Mazariegos, spending more than $250,000 so far. — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

probably from Medieval Latin expenditus, variant past participle of Latin expendere "to weigh, pay out, expend" + -ure

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

expenditure

noun

ex·​pen·​di·​ture ik-ˈspen-di-chər 

-də-ˌchu̇(ə)r

1

: the act of spending (as money, time, or energy)

2

: something that is spent

Legal Definition

expenditure

noun

ex·​pen·​di·​ture ik-ˈspen-di-chər, -ˌchu̇r 

1

: the act or process of paying out

2

: something paid out see also capital expenditure