- expense
- noun1 cost/money spent on sthADJECTIVE▪ considerable, enormous, great, huge, significant, vast▪ added, additional, extra▪ annual, monthly▪
Your monthly housing expense should not be greater than 28% of your income.
▪ unexpected, unforeseen▪ unnecessary▪ public▪The bridge was built at public expense.
▪ personalVERB + EXPENSE▪ go to, incur▪They went to all the expense of redecorating the house and then they moved.
▪ involve, put sb to (esp. BrE)▪Their visit put us to a lot of expense.
▪ bear, cover, meet▪She had to meet the expense herself.
▪ spare no▪No expense was spared (= they spent as much money as was needed) to make the party a success.
▪ avoid, save▪Save the expense of calling out a plumber by learning some of the basics yourself.
▪ cut, minimize (esp. AmE), reduce▪You can reduce your expenses by selling your old car at a good price.
▪ be worth▪The results are well worth the expense.
▪ justify▪a claim large enough to justify the expense of insurance policy premiums
EXPENSE + VERB▪ rise▪My expenses are constantly rising and my income stays the same.
PREPOSITION▪ at sb/sth's expense▪They had to repair the damage at their own expense.
▪He built up the business at the expense of his health.
▪ at … expense▪The house was transformed at great expense.
▪The package includes admission to the park at no extra expense.
PHRASES▪ at taxpayer expense (AmE), at taxpayers' expense, at the taxpayer's expense▪It emerged that they had received free first-class travel at the taxpayer's expense.
2 sth that makes you spend moneyADJECTIVE▪ big, considerable, major, significant▪ incidental▪Relocated employees received grants towards/toward incidental expenses like buying carpets.
▪ ongoing▪Insurance is an ongoing expense.
▪ business, management▪Meetings, and the time for them, are a considerable management expense.
▪ capital▪The process turned out to be a significant capital expense.
▪ depreciation, interest (both esp. AmE)▪Net interest expense increased to $5.9 million from $4.1 million.
3 expenses money spent for a particular purposeADJECTIVE▪ high, low▪Medical expenses can be quite high if you are not insured.
▪Look for a fund with low expenses.
▪ allowable, eligible (esp. AmE), legitimate, reasonable▪You can claim back the tax on legitimate business expenses.
▪ deductible, tax-deductible▪Start keeping track of deductible expenses such as charitable contributions.
▪ basic▪The guides are unpaid except for basic expenses.
▪ miscellaneous▪ ongoing▪your ongoing expenses such as your employees' salaries
▪ out-of-pocket (= paid for by an employee, to be claimed back later from the employer)▪Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed.
▪ total▪Total employee expenses were up about 6%.
▪ personal▪ living▪ household▪ administrative, maintenance, operating, operational, overhead (all esp. AmE)▪ business, work-related▪ marketing (esp. AmE)▪ travel, travelling/traveling (esp. BrE)▪ moving (esp. AmE), relocation, removal (BrE)▪ childcare, college, educational (esp. AmE), health-care, legal, medical▪ funeralVERB + EXPENSES▪ incur▪ cover, defray, meet, offset, pay, reimburse▪He was given a sum of money to cover his travel expenses.
▪ claim, claim back (BrE), claim for▪They are claiming expenses for travel and meals.
▪ recoup▪We will recoup our expenses within 24 months.
▪ deduct▪You will have to pay income tax on the rent you receive, although you can deduct expenses such as insurance.
▪ cut, lower (esp. AmE), minimize (esp. AmE), reduce▪in an effort to reduce expenses and boost profits
EXPENSES + VERB▪ arise from sth, arise out of sth (both esp. BrE)▪You can expect to receive compensation for all expenses arising out of the accident.
▪ increase, rise▪Operating expenses rose by more than 23% last year.
EXPENSE + NOUN▪ expense account▪Put the cost of the meal on your expense account.
▪ expenses claim (esp. BrE), expense report (AmE)▪ expense reimbursement (AmE)▪You will receive expense reimbursement for up to $5 000 for legal representation.
PREPOSITION▪ on expenses (BrE)▪I think we deserve a night out on expenses.
PHRASES▪ all expenses paid▪a two-day, all-expenses-paid trip to New York City
▪ spare no expense▪When it came to the wedding, no expense was spared (= a lot of money was spent).
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
