Expense
Origin
Middle English, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French, from Late Latin expensa, from Latin, feminine of expensus, past participle of expendere
Definitions
- 1archaic : the act or an instance of expending : expenditure
- 2a : something expended to secure a benefit or bring about a result
- b : financial burden or outlay : cost <built the monument at their own expense>
- c : an item of business outlay chargeable against revenue for a specific period
- 3: a cause or occasion of expenditure <an estate is a great expense>
- 4: a loss, detriment, or embarrassment that results from some action or gain : sacrifice <everyone had a good laugh at my expense> —usually used in the phrase at the expense of <develop a boy's physique at the expense of his intelligence — Bertrand Russell
Description
In common usage, an expense or expenditure is an outflow of money to another person or group to pay for an item or service, or for a category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition is an expense. Buying food, clothing, furniture or an automobile is often referred to as an expense. An expense is a cost that is "paid" or "remitted", usually in exchange for something of value. Something that seems to cost a great deal is "expensive". Something that seems to cost little is "inexpensive". "Expenses of the table" are expenses of dining, refreshments, a feast, etc.
In accounting, expense has a very specific meaning. It is an outflow of cash or other valuable assets from a person or company to another person or company. This outflow of cash is generally one side of a trade for products or services that have equal or better current or future value to the buyer than to the seller. Technically, an expense is an event in which an asset is used up or a liability is incurred. In terms of the accounting equation, expenses reduce owners' equity. The International Accounting Standards Board defines expenses as
...decreases in economic benefits during the accounting period in the form of outflows or depletions of assets or incurrences of liabilities that result in decreases in equity, other than those relating to distributions to equity participants.
