- an expenditure of money, effort, etc
- (transitive) to spend (money)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
out•lay /n. ˈaʊtˌleɪ; v. ˌaʊtˈleɪ/USA pronunciation
n., v., -laid, -lay•ing.
n. [countable]
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026n. [countable]
- an act of spending something, as money:outlays for new equipment.
- an amount spent:an outlay of several thousand dollars.
v. [~ + object]
- to spend or expend, as money.
out•lay
(n. out′lā′;v. out′lā′),USA pronunciation n., v., -laid, -lay•ing.
n.
v.t.
n.
- an expending or spending, as of money.
- an amount expended;
expenditure.
v.t.
- to expend, as money.
- out- + lay1 1545–55
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
outlay n /ˈaʊtˌleɪ/
'outlay' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
cost
- cost-effective
- extravagance
- outgo
- pay back
- penny shares
- capital outlay
- cover
- expense
- outlaid
- price
- prudence
- return
- saving