OUTLAYS Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

outlays 1 of 2

noun

plural of outlay

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

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outlays

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of outlay

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of outlays

Noun

The 2026 fiscal year saw record sums for both receipts and outlays, according to a Treasury Department official. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 By comparison, total spending jumped 102% in that span, with outlays on social security and employment up 207%, science and technology up 137%, and defense up 141%. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2026 This time, France's large pension outlays and its need to rein in public spending leave little room for maneuver. — Makini Brice, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026 Russia ramped up its military outlays, putting it on track to spend a record $200 billion on defense in 2026 with little sign of the Ukraine war coming to an end. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026 The district plans to spend $216 million on capital outlays, up from $132 million, including the ongoing Unite U-46 construction projects and the purchase of new buses. — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026 The Lawrence deal changed the Bengals’ math this offseason, and de facto general manager Duke Tobin spoke before training camp about the future outlays and challenges in completing those deals. — Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026 Federal funding outlays followed, including nearly $114 million awarded for initial construction components. — Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 31 Aug. 2026 In the first 10 months of the 2026 fiscal year, interest costs have eclipsed Medicare healthcare outlays to become the second-largest line item in the federal budget, behind the Social Security pension system. — Reuters, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for outlays

Noun

Viewed this way, protections such as immutable backups and isolated backup networks, often cut for budget reasons, look less like expenses and more like insurance against days of downtime.

— Michael Wu, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
If a governor does not opt in, that state's taxpayers can still make donations to SGOs and receive the tax credit, but families in that state won't qualify for scholarships or vouchers to pay for educational expenses.

— Cory Turner, NPR, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of expenses

Verb

Country music star Randy Houser spends a lot of his life on the road, but when the shows are over and the tour bus stops rolling, there's usually one thing on his mind.

— Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Every year, Santos spends months back home in the Yukon as the official sign painter of Dawson City, preserving its history on behalf of the Canadian government.

— Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of spends

Noun

That flexibility, whether enabled by SSTs or other controls, could lower costs and speed up grid connections.

— Alex Pasternack, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Anger about rising inflation, from energy prices to housing costs, has led to clashes in Italy and Portugal.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of costs

Verb

And the city is backing a ballot initiative of its own, Measure AT, which would eliminate a $15-million cap on the 10% admission tax on ticket sales the stadium pays.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
That’s, like, half of what Heather pays for house slippers — that is a single designer slipper.

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of pays

Noun

Between Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta, over $720 billion of capital expenditures is projected to be spent this year, most of it on AI infrastructure, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

— Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
But the attorney general said the expenditures have been worth it, salvaging billions in state funding that the administration had sought to claw back, and protecting the rights of the state and its residents.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of expenditures

Browse Nearby Words

outlaying

outlays

outlet

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Style

“Outlays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outlays. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of outlays

noun

verb

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