expenditure

expenditure — noun

1. the money that a person, company, or government pays out for goods, services, or

1.nounB2
Definition

the money that a person, company, or government pays out for goods, services, or running costs — often recorded as a total over a week, month, or year.

Example

The government's expenditure on healthcare rose sharply during the pandemic.

expenditure on [area] — shows where money goes

After reviewing the budget, the city council cut its expenditure on new furniture.

cut expenditure on [item] — common verb + preposition pattern

Common collocations
  • government expenditure
  • public expenditure
  • capital expenditure
  • household expenditure
  • military expenditure
  • health expenditure
  • cut expenditure
  • reduce expenditure
  • increase expenditure
  • total expenditure
  • annual expenditure
  • expenditure on education
  • expenditure on defence
  • expenditure on research
Synonyms
  • spending

    less formal, used in everyday contexts; expenditure is preferred in official reports

  • outlay

    focuses on the initial or one-time payment rather than ongoing costs

  • cost

    broader — can mean the price of a single item; expenditure implies a total or planned sum

  • expense

    overlaps significantly, but 'expense' is more common for personal budgets; 'expenditure' sounds more official

Antonyms
  • income

    money received, the opposite side of a budget

  • revenue

    money a government or company receives, contrasted with what it pays out

Grammar Patterns

expenditure + on + noun phrase

expenditure + of + amount

Usage Note

Frequently used with a possessive determiner (the government's expenditure, our household expenditure) or with 'on' to indicate the area of spending. The plural form 'expenditures' is common when listing multiple separate payments.

Common Mistakes

The government expenditure on education increased.' (missing article)
The government's expenditure on education increased.
In formal contexts, use the possessive 'government's' before 'expenditure'.
I cannot afford this expenditure of milk.
I cannot afford this expenditure on milk.
Use 'on', not 'of', when stating what the money is spent on.

2. the using up of a resource such as energy, time, or physical effort for a purpos

2.nounB2
Definition

the using up of a resource such as energy, time, or physical effort for a purpose — especially when the amount consumed is large.

Example

The team's expenditure of effort on the research project earned them a prize.

expenditure of + effort — resource-consumption sense

Climbing the steep trail required a large expenditure of energy from every hiker.

Common collocations
  • expenditure of energy
  • expenditure of time
  • expenditure of effort
  • expenditure of resources
  • expenditure of calories
  • significant expenditure
  • considerable expenditure
  • large expenditure
  • physical expenditure
  • mental expenditure
Synonyms
  • consumption

    used especially for energy or fuel; consumption does not cover time well

  • use

    simpler and less formal; expenditure emphasises the amount or cost of what is used

  • spending

    normally limited to money; 'expenditure of energy' is not replaceable by 'spending of energy' in formal English, though it is used informally

Antonyms
  • conservation

    the careful saving of resources, opposite of using them up

  • saving

    keeping resources rather than consuming them

Grammar Patterns

expenditure of + resource (energy / time / effort / money)

Usage Note

Unlike sense 1, this sense is almost always uncountable. The pattern is 'expenditure of [resource]' — the resource is named after 'of', not 'on'. Common resources used with this sense are 'energy', 'time', 'effort', 'resources', and 'calories'.

Common Mistakes

There was a large expenditure on time for the project.
There was a large expenditure of time on the project.
Use 'of' to name the resource being consumed (time, energy, effort), and 'on' to name the activity.
I made an expenditure of my free time yesterday.
I made a significant expenditure of time on the project yesterday.
Add a quantifier (large, significant, considerable) — the phrase sounds odd without one.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to money paid out, but they differ in formality and scope. 'Expenditure' is the most formal and is the standard term in government budgets, corporate reports, and academic writing. 'Spending' is the everyday equivalent — a newspaper might say 'government spending' but a policy document would say 'public expenditure'. 'Expense' often refers to a specific cost item ('travel expenses') and is the everyday word for personal outgoings. 'Outlay' focuses on an initial or one-time payment, especially for equipment or a large purchase, and is slightly less common. 'Cost' is the broadest term; it can refer to a single price or an ongoing total. In practical usage: 'The company's expenditure on marketing doubled' sounds official, while 'I need to cut my monthly spending' sounds personal.

spending ↗expense ↗outlaycost ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • cut expenditure
  • reduce expenditure
  • increase expenditure
  • control expenditure
  • record expenditure
  • planned expenditure
  • actual expenditure
  • expenditure on research
  • expenditure on infrastructure

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

'Expenditure' entered English in the mid-1700s, adapted from the Latin verb 'expendere' — formed from 'ex-' (out) and 'pendere' (to weigh, to pay). The original picture was of weighing out coins on a scale before paying. The same root gave English 'expense', 'spend', and 'pendulum'.