amounts paid for goods and services that may be currently tax deductible (as opposed to capital expenditures)
"The accountant advised us to categorize the office supplies as an expense rather than a capital expenditure so we could claim them on our taxes."
money spent to perform work and usually reimbursed by an employer
"he kept a careful record of his expenses at the meeting"
A spending or consuming, often a disbursement of funds.
"The company's annual report highlighted that travel and client entertainment remained their largest expense last year."
In plain English: An expense is any money you spend on something.
"The high cost of groceries was our biggest expense this month."
Usage: Use "expense" to refer to the cost incurred when buying something or paying for a service, such as travel expenses or daily living costs. It specifically denotes the amount of money spent rather than the act of spending itself.
reduce the estimated value of something
"For tax purposes you can write off the laser printer"
To charge a cost against an expense account; to bill something to the company for which one works.
"Before you book that flight, please make sure to get your manager's approval so I can add it directly to your corporate travel expense."
In plain English: To expense something means to write it down as a cost that your business can pay for instead of you paying from your own money.
"The company decided to expense all travel costs for the regional meeting."
Usage: Do not use "expense" as a verb in modern English to mean charging a cost or billing someone; this usage is archaic and often considered incorrect. Instead, rely on standard verbs like "charge," "bill," or "pay for" to describe incurring costs.
The word entered Middle English from the Anglo-Norman expense and Old French espense, which derived from the Late Latin expēnsa. It originally referred to things that are spent or used up, reflecting its root meaning in the verb expendō.