1
: the act of expending
2
: expenditure, payment
outlays for national defense
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
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
John Liu, CNN Money, 5 Mar. 2026
Fast forward to 2025 when the total outlays are now north of $7 trillion a year, more than a 360% increase in national spending in the 30 years since term limits were wrested from the American public.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outlay
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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
Rising defense outlays have funded the expansion of fighter jets, aircraft carriers, drones and submarines amid Xi’s push to modernize the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
—John Liu, CNN Money, 5 Mar. 2026
Fast forward to 2025 when the total outlays are now north of $7 trillion a year, more than a 360% increase in national spending in the 30 years since term limits were wrested from the American public.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outlay
Cite this Entry
“Outlay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outlay. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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