At expense of
cost or charge:
the expense of a good meal.
a cause or occasion of spending:
a car can be a great expense.
the act of expending; expenditure.
expenses.
charges incurred during a business -ssignment or trip.
money paid as reimburs-m-nt for such charges:
to receive a salary and expenses.
to charge or write off as an expense.
to be expensed.
at the expense of, at the sacrifice of; to the detriment of:
quant-ty at the expense of quality.
noun
a particular payment of money; expenditure
money needed for individual purchases; cost; charge
(pl) incidental money spent in the performance of a job, commission, etc, usually reimbursed by an employer or allowable against tax
something requiring money for its purchase or upkeep: the car was more of an expense than he had expected
at the expense of, to the detriment of: he succeeded at the expense of his health
verb
(transitive) (us & canadian) to treat as an expense for book-keeping or tax purposes
n.
late 14c., from anglo-french expense, old french espense “money provided for expenses,” from late latin expensa “disburs-m-nt, outlay, expense,” noun use of neuter plural past participle of latin expendere “to weigh out money, to pay down” (see expend).
latin spensa also yielded medieval latin spe(n)sa, whose sense specialized to “outlay for provisions,” then “provisions, food,” which was borrowed into old high german as spisa and is the root of german speise “food,” now mostly meaning prepared food, and speisen “to eat.”
v.
1909, from expense (n.). related: expensed; expensing.
see:
at the expense of
go to the trouble (expense)
money (expense) is no object
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- At fault
a defect or imperfection; flaw; failing: a fault in the brakes; a fault in one’s character. responsibility for failure or a wrongful act: it is my fault that we have not finished. an error or mistake: a fault in addition. a misdeed or transgression: to confess one’s faults. sports. a ball that when served does […]
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initially, at the start, as in at first the berries were green, but when they ripened they turned bright red. [ second half of 1500s ]
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the power or faculty of seeing; perception of objects by use of the eyes; vision. an act, fact, or instance of seeing. one’s range of vision on some specific occasion: land is in sight. a view; glimpse. mental perception or regard; judgment. something seen or worth seeing; spectacle: the sights of london. informal. something unusual, […]
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directly from the origin, without intervention or intermediary. for example, i prefer to hear his criticism at first hand, rather than having it p-ssed on by my boss. this phrase uses hand in the sense of “person” (coming directly from one person). [ first half of 1700s ] also see: at second hand