as in paying
somewhat formal
to provide money for (something)
This will defray the costs.
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Recent Examples of defraying
Installation costs can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars, which is why most federal and state policies promoting heat pump adoption have focused on defraying them.
—
Ben Christopher, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
Ben Christopher, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defraying
Verb
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But determining how to structure reimbursements would be tricky, as the costs of the tariffs flowed through the economy in the form of customers paying the taxes directly as well as importers either passing along the cost indirectly or absorbing them.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Feb. 2026
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Kyiv is paying the price of the upheaval with constant churn and relentless loss, Ukrainians told me.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Nuclear power delivers the most expensive electricity by far, and that doesn’t include the enormous cost borne by taxpayers of building and continually subsidizing the plant.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
24 Feb. 2026
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But Borenstein explains that some of the reduction in cost could be because San Francisco and other urban areas are subsidizing the more rural areas in PG&E territory, particularly in fire-prone areas.—
Amanda Hari,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Senate Republicans and Democrats clashed Wednesday at the state Capitol before passing emergency legislation on a wide variety of subjects, including warehouse workers, voter data, and funding for nonprofits.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
26 Feb. 2026
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Fiscal 2025 marks the 21st consecutive year the company ended the year with no debt, fully funding operations and its rebanner strategy with cash on hand.—
Stephen Garner,
Footwear News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has been a Hollywood producer for two decades, forming Skydance with his billionaire father in 2006 and financing some major franchises, including Star Trek, Mission Impossible and Top Gun.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
27 Feb. 2026
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Bonds are supposed to be for capital investments — improvements that will last for years, justifying the long-term cost of financing them.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defraying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defraying. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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