Expensing

/ɪkˈspɛnsɪŋ/ verb

Definition

The act of recording or treating something as an expense; spending money on something.

Etymology

From 'expense' used as a verb (a back-formation from the noun) plus the present participle suffix '-ing' (Old English origin). The verb form became common in accounting and business contexts.

Kelly Says

In accounting, 'expensing' something means recording it as a cost rather than as an asset—it's a technical term that businesses use to describe a crucial decision about how to treat a purchase. This shows how the same word can have very different meanings in specialized fields.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.