plural expenses
1
: the amount of money that is needed to pay for or buy something
I'd like to save the time and expense [=cost] of redoing the whole thing.
I don't think a first-class ticket is worth the added/extra expense.
—often used after atThese items were imported at great/considerable/enormous expense. [=it cost a lot to import them]
We were able to fix the problem at very little expense. [=for very little money]
The repairs were made at no expense to us. [=without costing us anything]
Note: If you spare no expense, you spend as much money as you need to in order to make something as good as possible.
2
: an amount of money that must be spent especially regularly to pay for something
The annual fee is simply an expense of doing business.
—usually pluralTheir expenses [=expenditures] were getting far ahead of their income.
We need to find a way to control expenses.
cutting back on expenses
legal/medical/household expenses [=costs]
I'm concerned about the project's hidden expenses.
You'll have to pay your own travel/traveling expenses.
an all-expenses paid trip [=a journey for which all costs are already paid]
3
: something on which money is spent
A new car is a major expense.
My new computer was a business expense. [=something I had to buy in order to do business]
Cite this Entry
“Expense.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/expense. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
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