1
: the act of expending
2
: expenditure, payment
outlays for national defense
Synonyms
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
Jennifer Castenson, Forbes, 7 July 2021
The company will initially outlay $10,000 to be shared by the group - Miami volleyball player Taylor Burrell, Florida State soccer player Jaelin Howell, Central Florida track athlete Rayniah Jones and Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas - starting Thursday.
—USA TODAY, 1 July 2021
With resources at a premium, now is the time to reassess products and services, perhaps remarket or rebrand and, most importantly, determine how best to outlay capital.
—Noelle Federico, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2022
Farmers have to outlay massive amounts of money at the beginning of the season to pay for everything.
—Sarah Bowman, IndyStar, 30 Sep. 2022
This is a great time for the interviewer to outlay strategies the company has implemented, and resources that have been allocated.
—Jen Jamula, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2021
In recent weeks, Biden has sought to revive a flagging operation in Iowa, spending more time in the state and outlaying more on online and TV ads ahead of the Feb. 3 caucuses.
—Ryan Teague Beckwith, Bloomberg.com, 10 May 2020
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Owned by a sizeable 24%, Manchester United simply have not been keeping clean sheets to justify the £5.5m outlay on their summer recruit.
—SI.com, 27 Sep. 2019
Once, that outlay might have won him more than mockery.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 22 Nov. 2019
Michael Kolomatsky, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Since its investment outlay was no match for the deep pockets of Netflix, Amazon or Apple, Fremantle offered something else.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Aug. 2023
For anyone needing a mortgage, interest rates are the big driver of monthly outlays.
—Globe Columnist, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023
Government spending increases Government outlays rose for the fourth straight quarter, climbing 2.6% following a 5% advance in the previous quarter.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 27 July 2023
But Divvy’s mandatory savings plan also means that renters have a far higher monthly outlay compared with customers of other rent-to-own firms.
—Matthew Goldstein, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2023
Some developments could crimp outlays in the months ahead, easing inflation pressures.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 28 July 2023
Amid fears of Western fatigue and, in particular, waning U.S. support as elections draw near, Kyiv wants to show that the significant American and European outlay to buttress its war effort has been worth it — and is also worth sustaining.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 11 June 2023
Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press Debt-ceiling discussions between the White House and congressional negotiators are focused on reining in outlays on the budget’s discretionary side, the type of spending that Congress is supposed to approve every year to keep the government running.
—David Harrison, WSJ, 25 May 2023
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Verb
This is a huge win for builders who have to outlay a lot of capital to purchase land and are hesitant to get into warehouse space because of the additional CAPEX said Tim Sullivan, senior managing principal at Zonda, a nationwide data and media group.
—Jennifer Castenson, Forbes, 7 July 2021
The company will initially outlay $10,000 to be shared by the group - Miami volleyball player Taylor Burrell, Florida State soccer player Jaelin Howell, Central Florida track athlete Rayniah Jones and Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas - starting Thursday.
—USA TODAY, 1 July 2021
With resources at a premium, now is the time to reassess products and services, perhaps remarket or rebrand and, most importantly, determine how best to outlay capital.
—Noelle Federico, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2022
Farmers have to outlay massive amounts of money at the beginning of the season to pay for everything.
—Sarah Bowman, IndyStar, 30 Sep. 2022
This is a great time for the interviewer to outlay strategies the company has implemented, and resources that have been allocated.
—Jen Jamula, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2021
In recent weeks, Biden has sought to revive a flagging operation in Iowa, spending more time in the state and outlaying more on online and TV ads ahead of the Feb. 3 caucuses.
—Ryan Teague Beckwith, Bloomberg.com, 10 May 2020
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Owned by a sizeable 24%, Manchester United simply have not been keeping clean sheets to justify the £5.5m outlay on their summer recruit.
—SI.com, 27 Sep. 2019
Once, that outlay might have won him more than mockery.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 22 Nov. 2019
Noun
So, that average-value three-bedroom home ended up requiring an outlay of about $623,290 over 13.2 years of ownership.
—Michael Kolomatsky, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Since its investment outlay was no match for the deep pockets of Netflix, Amazon or Apple, Fremantle offered something else.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Aug. 2023
For anyone needing a mortgage, interest rates are the big driver of monthly outlays.
—Globe Columnist, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023
Government spending increases Government outlays rose for the fourth straight quarter, climbing 2.6% following a 5% advance in the previous quarter.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 27 July 2023
But Divvy’s mandatory savings plan also means that renters have a far higher monthly outlay compared with customers of other rent-to-own firms.
—Matthew Goldstein, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2023
Some developments could crimp outlays in the months ahead, easing inflation pressures.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 28 July 2023
Amid fears of Western fatigue and, in particular, waning U.S. support as elections draw near, Kyiv wants to show that the significant American and European outlay to buttress its war effort has been worth it — and is also worth sustaining.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 11 June 2023
Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press Debt-ceiling discussions between the White House and congressional negotiators are focused on reining in outlays on the budget’s discretionary side, the type of spending that Congress is supposed to approve every year to keep the government running.
—David Harrison, WSJ, 25 May 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'outlay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near outlay
Cite this Entry
“Outlay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outlay. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
outlay
noun
out·lay
ˈau̇t-ˌlā
1
: the act of spending
2
: an amount spent : payment
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