noun
1 cost/money spent on sth
ADJECTIVE
▪ considerable , enormous , great , huge , significant , vast
▪ added , additional , extra
▪ annual , monthly
▪
Your monthly housing ~ should not be greater than 28% of your income.
▪ unexpected , unforeseen
▪ unnecessary
▪ public
▪
The bridge was built at public ~.
▪ personal
VERB + EXPENSE
▪ go to , incur
▪
They went to all the ~ of redecorating the house and then they moved.
▪ involve , put sb to ( esp. BrE )
▪
Their visit put us to a lot of ~.
▪ bear , cover , meet
▪
She had to meet the ~ herself.
▪ spare no
▪
No ~ was spared (= they spent as much money as was needed) to make the party a success.
▪ avoid , save
▪
Save the ~ of calling out a plumber by learning some of the basics yourself.
▪ cut , minimize ( esp. AmE ), reduce
▪
You can reduce your ~s by selling your old car at a good price.
▪ be worth
▪
The results are well worth the ~.
▪ justify
▪
a claim large enough to justify the ~ of insurance policy premiums
EXPENSE + VERB
▪ rise
▪
My ~s are constantly rising and my income stays the same.
PREPOSITION
▪ at sb/sth's ~
▪
They had to repair the damage at their own ~.
▪
He built up the business at the ~ of his health.
▪ at … ~
▪
The house was transformed at great ~.
▪
The package includes admission to the park at no extra ~.
PHRASES
▪ at taxpayer ~ ( AmE ), at taxpayers' ~ , at the taxpayer's ~
▪
It emerged that they had received free first-class travel at the taxpayer's ~.
2 sth that makes you spend money
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , considerable , major , significant
▪ incidental
▪
Relocated employees received grants towards/toward incidental ~s like buying carpets.
▪ ongoing
▪
Insurance is an ongoing ~.
▪ business , management
▪
Meetings, and the time for them, are a considerable management ~.
▪ capital
▪
The process turned out to be a significant capital ~.
▪ depreciation , interest (both esp. AmE )
▪
Net interest ~ increased to $5.9 million from $4.1 million.
3 expenses money spent for a particular purpose
ADJECTIVE
▪ high , low
▪
Medical ~s can be quite high if you are not insured.
▪
Look for a fund with low ~s.
▪ allowable , eligible ( esp. AmE ), legitimate , reasonable
▪
You can claim back the tax on legitimate business ~s.
▪ deductible , tax-deductible
▪
Start keeping track of deductible ~s such as charitable contributions.
▪ basic
▪
The guides are unpaid except for basic ~s.
▪ miscellaneous
▪ ongoing
▪
your ongoing ~s such as your employees' salaries
▪ out-of-pocket (= paid for by an employee, to be claimed back later from the employer)
▪
Any out-of-pocket ~s incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed.
▪ total
▪
Total employee ~s were up about 6%.
▪ personal
▪ living
▪ household
▪ administrative , maintenance , operating , operational , overhead (all esp. AmE )
▪ business , work-related
▪ marketing ( esp. AmE )
▪ travel , travelling/traveling ( esp. BrE )
▪ moving ( esp. AmE ), relocation , removal ( BrE )
▪ childcare , college , educational ( esp. AmE ), health-care , legal , medical
▪ funeral
VERB + EXPENSES
▪ incur
▪ cover , defray , meet , offset , pay , reimburse
▪
He was given a sum of money to cover his travel ~s.
▪ claim , claim back ( BrE ), claim for
▪
They are claiming ~s for travel and meals.
▪ recoup
▪
We will recoup our ~s within 24 months.
▪ deduct
▪
You will have to pay income tax on the rent you receive, although you can deduct ~s such as insurance.
▪ cut , lower ( esp. AmE ), minimize ( esp. AmE ), reduce
▪
in an effort to reduce ~s and boost profits
EXPENSES + VERB
▪ arise from sth , arise out of sth (both esp. BrE )
▪
You can expect to receive compensation for all ~s arising out of the accident.
▪ increase , rise
▪
Operating ~s rose by more than 23% last year.
EXPENSE + NOUN
▪ ~ account
▪
Put the cost of the meal on your ~ account.
▪ ~s claim ( esp. BrE ), ~ report ( AmE )
▪ ~ reimbursement ( AmE )
▪
You will receive ~ reimbursement for up to $5 000 for legal representation.
PREPOSITION
▪ on ~s ( BrE )
▪
I think we deserve a night out on ~s.
PHRASES
▪ all ~s paid
▪
a two-day, all-expenses-paid trip to New York City
▪ spare no ~
▪
When it came to the wedding, no ~ was spared ( = a lot of money was spent ).