expenses

expenses — 名詞

1. the amounts of money you have to pay in order to do, buy, or have something — fo

1.名詞B1
釋義

開銷；花費

生活或活動所付出的金錢支出

the amounts of money you have to pay in order to do, buy, or have something — for example, rent, food, school fees, or travel costs.

例句

Ari and Sophia split the household expenses each month after they moved in together.

Ari 和 Sophia 同居後，每個月平分家中的開銷。

split/share + expenses (household budgeting)

Living expenses in Taipei rose sharply after the new metro line opened nearby.

新捷運線通車後，台北的生活開銷大幅上漲。

compound: living expenses

同義詞
  • costs

    near-identical in everyday use; 'costs' is slightly more business-flavoured

  • outgoings

    British, especially for regular household payments

  • outlay

    more formal; usually a single large amount rather than a running list

反義詞
  • income

    money coming in, as opposed to going out

  • earnings

    money received from work

文法句型

expenses on/for + noun

cover/pay expenses

用法筆記

Almost always plural in this sense — '*the expense*' (singular) names a single cost or burden, while 'expenses' names the running total a person, household, or trip generates over time.

常見錯誤

❌My monthly expense for food is high.
✅My monthly expenses for food are high.
💡when listing ongoing costs (rent, food, transport), the plural 'expenses' is standard.
❌I have a lot of expense this month.
✅I have a lot of expenses this month.
💡uncountable singular 'expense' sounds bookish; everyday speech uses the plural.

2. money you spend while doing your job — such as taxi rides, hotel rooms, or clien

2.名詞B2
釋義

公務支出

工作中先墊付、再由公司報銷的款項

money you spend while doing your job — such as taxi rides, hotel rooms, or client meals — which your employer later pays back to you.

例句

Diya submitted her expenses for the Tokyo trip and got the money back within a week.

Diya 提交了東京出差的公務支出，一週內就收到了款項。

submit + expenses (reimbursement workflow)

Christopher's law firm pays his expenses whenever he travels to meet a client abroad.

Christopher 的律師事務所，會在他出國見客戶時支付他的差旅費。

pay someone's expenses

同義詞
  • reimbursements

    the money that flows back from the employer; 'expenses' is the cost itself

  • allowance

    a fixed amount given up front, not pay-back of actual receipts

文法句型

claim/submit/reimburse expenses

on expenses

用法筆記

Subject is typically an employee or contractor; the verbs that go with it (claim, submit, refund, reimburse) all imply a back-and-forth with a paying employer. Distinguish from sense 1: these expenses are temporary — the worker is out of pocket only until the employer pays them back.

常見錯誤

❌The company gave me an expense for the flight.
✅The company paid my expenses for the flight.
💡when an employer reimburses, use the plural 'expenses' with 'pay/cover/reimburse'.

3. the costs a business records against the money it earns each year, lowering the

3.名詞C1
釋義

可抵稅費用

可從營收中扣除以降低稅負的支出

the costs a business records against the money it earns each year, lowering the profit it must pay tax on — for example, salaries, rent on offices, and supplies.

例句

Zayd's accountant listed the studio's rent and electricity as business expenses on the tax return.

Zayd 的會計師在報稅單上，把工作室的租金和電費列為營業費用。

list/record + as expenses

Freelance designers in Taiwan can deduct work-related expenses from their taxable income each May.

台灣的自由接案設計師每年五月可以從應稅所得中扣除與工作相關的費用。

deduct + expenses (tax context)

同義詞
  • deductions

    what the expenses become on the tax return

  • overheads

    the ongoing running costs of a business (rent, electricity, salaries)

反義詞
  • revenue

    money flowing in, before expenses are subtracted

文法句型

deduct/write off expenses

claim expenses against tax

用法筆記

Frequently appears in compounds that specify the kind: 'business expenses', 'operating expenses', 'capital expenses'. Distinguish from sense 1 by the tax-and-bookkeeping context — these expenses are deliberately tracked because they reduce taxable profit.

常見錯誤

❌I will expense the cost from my tax.
✅I will deduct the cost from my tax / claim it as an expense.
💡non-native speakers often shorten the phrase incorrectly.

4. a loss, harm, or sacrifice that comes as the price of getting something else — f

4.名詞C1
釋義

代價；犧牲

為換取某物而付出的損失或代價

a loss, harm, or sacrifice that comes as the price of getting something else — for example, time, health, or another person's feelings.

例句

Antonia won the promotion, but it came at the expense of her marriage and her sleep.

Antonia 贏得了升遷，但代價是她的婚姻與睡眠。

fixed phrase: at the expense of + noun

The factory cut prices at the expense of the quality customers used to love.

工廠降低了價格，代價卻是客戶過去喜愛的品質。

at the expense of (trade-off)

同義詞
  • cost

    interchangeable inside the phrase 'at the cost of'

  • sacrifice

    emphasises that something valuable was deliberately given up

  • detriment

    more formal; emphasises harm

反義詞
  • benefit

    the gain rather than the price paid for it

文法句型

at the expense of + noun

at someone's expense

用法筆記

Almost always inside the fixed phrases 'at the expense of (something)' = sacrificing it, and 'at someone's expense' = making them suffer or look foolish. Singular in this sense — never '*at the expenses of*'.

常見錯誤

❌They built the road at the expenses of the forest.
✅They built the road at the expense of the forest.
💡the fixed phrase always uses singular 'expense' here.

expenses — 動詞