as in expense
a payment made in the course of achieving a result
the outlays for the couple's upcoming wedding seem to be multiplying at an incredible rate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to spend
to hand over or use up in payment
the nation had outlaid nearly 20 billion dollars on social programs at that point
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of outlay
Dan Walters, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2026
Sacramento’s schools have been teetering on the edge of insolvency for years due to outlays that are markedly greater than income.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for outlay
Noun
Sacramento’s schools have been teetering on the edge of insolvency for years due to outlays that are markedly greater than income.
—Dan Walters, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2026
Sacramento’s schools have been teetering on the edge of insolvency for years due to outlays that are markedly greater than income.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
Verb
Linear ratings are in decline and ad demand has been muted for several quarters owing to economic unrest and changes in how Madison Avenue outlays its dollars for media.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for outlay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outlay
Noun
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Crandall said funds raised will assist with funeral and memorial expenses, travel costs and other unexpected costs.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
5 Mar. 2026
-
This income covers official, charitable, and private expenses of William, his wife Kate Middleton, and their three children.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Provost has asked managers to spend most of their time there, leaving some of them frustrated, the people said.—
Albertina Torsoli,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
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Due to the 2024 hot fire test incident, the German launch startup spent 18 months conducting a comprehensive technical overhaul to ensure mission success.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The cost is nearly nine hundred million dollars a day, the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated.—
Robin Wright,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
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This is an ideal solution for technically adept web admins who prioritize cost-effectiveness, absolute control, and performance.—
Gabriel Zamora,
PC Magazine,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tech giants are buying up memory chips like never before, and paying a premium for multiyear contracts.—
Nasteho Said,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
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This should be exciting news for the 1 in 6 Americans who deal with infertility, especially those without health insurance or paying out-of-pocket because of inadequate coverage.—
Anna Moeslein,
Glamour,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Job opening numbers, personal consumption expenditures data - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - and a second estimate of quarterly GDP are due this week.—
Reuters,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
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There is a prosody to those mysterious terms bandied about in The Economist or The Financial Times, of liquidity and derivatives, operational profitability and capital expenditures, credit default swaps and enterprise value.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outlay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outlay. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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