at the expense of

preposition

Paid for by an individual or group.

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Meanings

preposition

alternative at one's expense

  1. businessPaid for by an individual or group.
  2. broadlyidiomaticAt one's responsibility.
  3. figurativelyIn a way as to harm somebody or something; to the detriment of.

    Bengali, like other Aryan languages of India, has spread, and is still spreading, at the expense of the aboriginal tongues.

    1926, Suniti Kumar Chatterji, The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language, page 3
  4. figurativelyOf a joke, deriding someone.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
at the cost of

Translations

Arabic عَلَى حِسَابِ, عَلَى نَفَقَةِ
  • عَلَى حِسَابِ (ʕalā ḥisābi)paid for by an individual or group
  • عَلَى نَفَقَةِ (ʕalā nafaqati)paid for by an individual or group
  • عَلَى حِسَابِ (ʕalā ḥisābi)in a way as to harm somebody or something
French à ses frais, au détriment de
  • à ses fraispaid for by an individual or group
  • au détriment dein a way as to harm somebody or something
German auf Rechnung, auf Kosten
  • auf Rechnungpaid for by an individual or group
  • auf Kostenin a way as to harm somebody or something
  • zum Schadenin a way as to harm somebody or something
Polish kosztem, kosztem
  • kosztempaid for by an individual or group
  • kosztemin a way as to harm somebody or something
Portuguese por conta de, à custa de
  • por conta depaid for by an individual or group
  • à custa dein a way as to harm somebody or something
  • às custas dein a way as to harm somebody or something
Spanish a expensas de, a costa de
  • a expensas depaid for by an individual or group
  • a costa depaid for by an individual or group
  • a costo/coste depaid for by an individual or group
  • a cuenta depaid for by an individual or group
  • por cuenta depaid for by an individual or group
  • a costa dein a way as to harm somebody or something
  • a costo/coste dein a way as to harm somebody or something
  • a cuenta dein a way as to harm somebody or something
  • a expensas dein a way as to harm somebody or something
  • en detrimento dein a way as to harm somebody or something
Swedish på bekostnad av, till priset av
  • på bekostnad avpaid for by an individual or group
  • till priset avin a way as to harm somebody or something
  • på bekostnad avin a way as to harm somebody or something
Cite this entry
APA

at the expense of. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20the%20expense%20of

MLA

“at the expense of.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20the%20expense%20of. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “at the expense of,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20the%20expense%20of.

Source: at the expense of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.