capital outlay

Meaning

1. 1nouncountable or uncountablebusinessfinance

   Money spent to buy or improve long-lasting assets such as buildings, machinery or land, rather than for everyday running costs.

   Grammar: Uncountable in general use: it needs capital outlay; countable when a single sum is meant: a large capital outlay.

   Patterns

   • capital outlay on something
   • a capital outlay of an amount

   Opening a restaurant requires a large capital outlay for kitchen equipment.

   The company reduced its capital outlay this year to save cash.

   Buying new trucks was a major capital outlay for the delivery firm.

Word forms

Common combinations

large capital outlay

A new factory is a large capital outlay for a small firm.

initial capital outlay

The initial capital outlay was paid back within three years.

capital outlay on equipment

Capital outlay on equipment doubled after the expansion.

reduce capital outlay

The board voted to reduce capital outlay until sales improved.

require capital outlay

Solar panels require capital outlay but cut energy bills later.

Synonyms and how they differ

capital expenditure

Capital expenditure is the more formal, common accounting term for the same idea, while capital outlay sounds slightly older.

investment

Investment is a broader word that can include shares or lending, whereas capital outlay refers to buying long-term assets.

capex

Capex is the informal abbreviation used by finance teams.

Opposites

Word family

capital noun

money or assets used to start or run a business

outlay noun

an amount of money spent

capitalize verb

to record a cost as an asset

Commonly confused: capital outlay or operating expense?

Practice

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