Meaning & use
an expenditure
Last updated
Meanings
phrasecountableformalbusinessfinance
An amount of money that is spent, especially by a government, company, or organization.
Grammar: The phrase includes the article 'an' and the noun 'expenditure'. You can talk about 'a large expenditure' or 'government expenditures'.
Patterns
- an expenditure on something
- government expenditure
- a large expenditure
The company reported an expenditure of $2 million on new equipment.
Government expenditure on health care has risen sharply.
They cut an expenditure that was no longer necessary.
phraseuncountableformalbusinessfinance
The act of spending money or using resources.
Grammar: When talking about the general activity of spending, 'expenditure' is uncountable and takes a singular verb.
Patterns
- expenditure of energy
- public expenditure
- reduce expenditure
The project required a huge expenditure of time and money.
We need to control expenditure more carefully this year.
The expenditure of energy in the experiment was carefully measured.
Word forms
| plural | expenditures |
|---|
Common combinations
- government expenditure
- Government expenditure on education increased.
- an expenditure on
- They made an expenditure on new computers.
- reduce expenditure
- The firm must reduce expenditure to stay profitable.
- capital expenditure
- Capital expenditure on buildings was delayed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- expense
- Expense is a more everyday word for money spent; expenditure is more formal and often used for large or official spending.
- spending
- Spending is the general activity or amount spent; expenditure is more formal and often appears in reports.
- outlay
- Outlay is money paid out, especially at the start of a project; expenditure can be ongoing.
Opposites
Word family
- expend verb
- To spend or use up money, energy, or time.
- expendable adjective
- Able to be used up or sacrificed if necessary.
Commonly confused: an expenditure or expense?
an expenditure vs expense
Expense is a more common word for costs; expenditure is more formal and often used for official or large-scale spending.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'an expenditure' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'An expenditure' is correct because 'expenditure' starts with a vowel sound. 'An expenditure' is wrong because 'a' is used before consonant sounds. 'In roads' is wrong because we say 'expenditure on' something. 'Announced expenditure' is wrong because a singular countable noun needs an article here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “an expenditure”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.