spend ‧ ing /ˈspendɪŋ/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
the amount of money spent, especially by a government or organization SYN expenditure
government/public/defence etc spending
a plan to increase military spending
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COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + spending
▪ public/government/state spending
The government is determined to keep public spending under control.
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They called for increased government spending on education.
▪ federal spending
He said his goal could be reached by slashing federal spending.
▪ consumer spending (=spending by members of the public)
There are some signs that consumer spending is beginning to pick up.
▪ defence/welfare/education etc spending (=spending on defence etc)
Further cuts in defence spending are being considered.
▪ campaign spending
Should there be stricter limits on campaign spending?
■ verbs
▪ increase/raise spending
He has increased public spending and raised taxes.
▪ cut/reduce spending
The alternative is to cut spending.
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THESAURUS
▪ spending the amount of money that is spent, especially by a government or other organization:
Company spending on staff benefits has been cut dramatically in recent years.
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There has been a huge increase in government spending.
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military spending
▪ expenditure formal the amount of money that a government, organization, or person spends during a particular period of time – used especially in official documents or reports:
British defence expenditure was consistently high during this period.
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military expenditure
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Expenditure on advertising has gone down.
▪ costs the money that a person or organization has to spend on heating, rent, wages etc:
What are your annual fuel costs?
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Falling sales have forced companies to cut costs.
▪ expenses the money that you spend on things that you need, for example on food, rent, and travel:
Living expenses are much higher in New York.
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I kept a record of all my travel expenses so that I could claim them back.
▪ outgoings the money that someone has to spend regularly on rent, bills, food etc for their home or business:
The outgoings on a house this size are very high.
▪ outlay the amount of money that someone must spend when they first start a new business or activity:
The intial outlay on machinery was quite high.
▪ overheads British English , overhead American English the money that a business spends regularly on rent, insurance, and other things that are needed to keep the business operating:
In London, small businesses often have high overheads.