expense

Etymology

From Middle English expense, from Anglo-Norman expense and Old French espense, from Late Latin expēnsa, from Latin expendō. See expend.

noun

1. A spending or consuming, often a disbursement of funds.
   She went to great expense to ensure her children would get the best education.
   Buying the car was a big expense, but will be worth it in the long run.
   We had a training weekend in New York, at the expense of our company.
   Husband nature's riches from expense. c. 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 44
2. The elimination or consumption of something, sometimes with the notion of loss or damage to the thing eliminated.
   Jones reached the final at the expense of Smith, who couldn't beat him.
3. (obsolete) Loss.
   And moan the expense of many a vanished sight. c. 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 30

verb

1. (transitive) To charge a cost against an expense account; to bill something to the company for which one works.
   It should be acceptable to expense a business lunch with a client.