outlay

1 of 2

verb

out·​lay ˈau̇t-ˌlā 

ˌau̇t-ˈlā

outlaid ˈau̇t-ˌlād 

ˌau̇t-ˈlād

; outlaying

transitive verb

: to lay out (money) : expend

outlay

2 of 2

noun

out·​lay ˈau̇t-ˌlā 

1

: the act of expending

2

: expenditure, payment

outlays for national defense

Synonyms of outlay

Verb

• spend
• pay

Noun

• expense
• cost
• expenditure

Examples of outlay in a Sentence

Verb

the nation had outlaid nearly 20 billion dollars on social programs at that point

Noun

The initial outlay for the program will be 2.4 million dollars.

Maintaining a horse requires considerable outlay.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Netflix would have paid nearly $83 billion, and given its resources, would have had more to outlay on live sports. — Andrew Marchand, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026

Microsoft plans to outlay $4 billion in the next five years worldwide. — Paresh Dave, Wired News, 24 Dec. 2025

Noun

Monday's announcement struck a different tone, with the companies collectively pushing the message that money won't be the problem as the AI buildout hits what McKinsey expects will be $7 trillion in global outlays by the end of the decade. — Kif Leswing, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026

Environmental Protection Agency outlays dropped $20 billion (59%) because of lower clean-energy grant disbursements. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1802, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1798, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for outlay

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• assez
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway

Kids Definition

outlay

noun

out·​lay

ˈau̇t-ˌlā

1

: the act of spending

2

: an amount spent : payment