as in cost
a payment made in the course of achieving a result
they spared no expense in building the house of their dreams
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of expense
The Federation of Labor spent more than $1 million on mailers, videos and other pro-Bass expenses.
—
David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
Dollar amounts are no specified but grantees will use the money for general unrestricted operating expenses.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 4 June 2026
For immigrant communities, this is whether our legal system should help the powerful extract wealth at the expense of ordinary people in crisis.
—Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
In Colorado, 33% of debtors now cite everyday expenses – groceries, utilities and childcare – as the primary reason for their debt.
—Ali Besharat, The Conversation, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for expense
David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
Dollar amounts are no specified but grantees will use the money for general unrestricted operating expenses.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 4 June 2026
For immigrant communities, this is whether our legal system should help the powerful extract wealth at the expense of ordinary people in crisis.
—Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
In Colorado, 33% of debtors now cite everyday expenses – groceries, utilities and childcare – as the primary reason for their debt.
—Ali Besharat, The Conversation, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for expense
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expense
Noun
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Bessent’s team will assess conditions in Gulf countries and request estimates of the cost of repairing damage inflicted by Iran since the start of the conflict.—
Dalia Abdelwahab,
CNN Money,
7 June 2026
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Its agenda covers financing options for issuers and the strain that property insurance costs and commercial real estate vacancies place on public budgets, along with bond pricing and market data.—
Dara-Abasi Ita,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Noun
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Finance chiefs at five of the giant hyperscalers—Meta’s Susan Li, Microsoft’s Amy Hood, Alphabet’s Anat Ashkenazi, Oracle’s Hilary Maxson, and OpenAI’s Sarah Friar—are collectively overseeing hundreds of billions in capital expenditures.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
1 June 2026
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Despite a crowded field of candidates with notable resumes, as well as record-breaking spending by Steyer and independent-expenditure committees.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Expense.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expense. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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