What does expenditure mean?
Expenditure is a formal noun describing the act of spending money and, by extension, the total amount of money spent. It also covers the consumption of non-financial resources, as in the expenditure of energy, time, or effort. The word is at home in economics, government budgets, corporate accounts, and scientific writing — phrases like capital expenditure, public expenditure, and energy expenditure are firmly established. Compared with its everyday cousin 'spending', expenditure carries a more official, analytical tone, which is why news reports about national budgets favour it. In American usage the plural form expenditures frequently denotes separate line items of spending, whereas British writers tend to treat expenditure as an uncountable mass noun. Derived from Latin expendere, meaning to weigh or pay out, the word ultimately shares its root with spend, expense, and pension. Its precision and neutrality make it indispensable wherever money and resources must be accounted for carefully.
The action of spending funds, or the total amount of money spent.
"Total defence expenditure fell for the third consecutive year."
The using up or consumption of a resource such as time, energy, or effort.
"Climbing the pass required a considerable expenditure of energy."
The uncountable singular is standard when referring to spending as an activity or aggregate total. The plural is chiefly American and typically appears in financial or accounting contexts to denote discrete items of spending.
"The report itemised the city's expenditures for the fiscal year."
Expenditure comes from Latin expendere — 'to weigh out' — so every time a government balances its books, it's literally weighing its money like coins on a scale.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of expenditure
Expenditure entered English in the mid-eighteenth century, formed from the verb expend with the noun-forming suffix -ure. Expend itself traces back through Anglo-Norman and Middle French to the Latin verb expendere, composed of ex- ('out') and pendere ('to weigh' or 'to pay'), reflecting the ancient practice of weighing out coinage. This same Latin root gave English related words such as expense, spend, compensate, pension, and dispense.
How expenditure is actually used
Formal to neutral in register; common in economics, accounting, and official reports. In everyday speech, native speakers often prefer simpler words like 'spending'. The plural 'expenditures' is especially common in American financial writing, where it often means individual items of spending.
Easily confused with expenditure
An expense is an individual item of money spent, while expenditure refers to the overall act or total amount of spending.