n. A laying out or expending; the disbursing of money; employment and consumption, as of time or labor; expenditure.n. Specifically Great or undue expenditure; prodigality.n. That which is expended, laid out, or consumed; especially, money expended; cost; charge: as, a prudent man limits his expenses by his income.n. Cost through diminution or deterioration; damage or loss from any detracting cause, especially a moral one: preceded by at: as, he did this at the expense of his character.To charge or debit with an item of incurred expense to be collected from the proper party and accounted for by the chargee: used chiefly in dealings between express or railway companies or their agencies.