as in expenses
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
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as in spends
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 outlays
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
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
Federal government outlays plunged nearly 17% amid the shutdown.
—Matt Ott, Los Angeles Times, 23 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, 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
This move came from the realization that even serious spending hikes in individual countries—European states have doubled their defense outlays since 2015—would vary widely given the economic disparities.
—Joseph De Weck, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
Meantime, outlays rose at building materials stores and sporting goods retailers.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 2026
Noun
These numbers don’t include interest and depreciation, the latter SpaceX’s outlays for plant and equipment.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
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
Federal government outlays plunged nearly 17% amid the shutdown.
—Matt Ott, Los Angeles Times, 23 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, 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
This move came from the realization that even serious spending hikes in individual countries—European states have doubled their defense outlays since 2015—would vary widely given the economic disparities.
—Joseph De Weck, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
Meantime, outlays rose at building materials stores and sporting goods retailers.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outlays
Noun
-
In Oregon, where psilocybin therapy was legalized in 2023, a third of new clinics have already closed owing to high operating expenses and treatment costs.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Some of Reynolds’ expenses as AFL-CIO president were being charged to a credit card belonging to the federation, several witnesses testified, and Reynolds confirmed, during arbitration.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This exceeds the normal percentage of what is provided by EQIP cost-share grants, which usually max out at 75% of what a farmer spends on practices like setting up a greenhouse or improving their irrigation system.—
Anthony Pahnke,
Fortune,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Hanson, who spends much of his life crawling through underbrush to count trees, plunged ahead into stands of chest-high ceanothus, pointing out sequoias camouflaged in the pervasive post-fire brush.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Air space closures have required rerouting flights around parts of the Middle East, which can mean longer routes, additional fuel burn and higher operating costs.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Citing federal threats to health care access and rising costs for working families, Granato argues she’s best equipped to navigate the county from the jump.—
A.D. Quig,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As of now, the job pays nothing.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
-
YouTube, which already pays some $2 billion annually for the rights to the out-of-market NFL Sunday Ticket package, is expected to pick up all four of those windows.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
“Outlays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outlays. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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