outlay

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *úd

Proto-Germanic *ūt

Proto-Germanic *ūt-

Old English ūt-

Middle English ut-

English out-

Old English læġ

English lay

English outlay

From out- + lay.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (noun) /ˈaʊtleɪ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• IPA^(key): (verb) /aʊtˈleɪ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ

Noun

outlay (countable and uncountable, plural outlays)

1. A laying out or expending; that which is laid out or expended.
2. The spending of money, or an expenditure.

   Without too much outlay, you could buy a second-hand car.

   • 1945 March and April, T. F. Cameron, “New Works Procedure”, in Railway Magazine, page 72:

     Regard must be had to the extent to which the original capital outlay has not been covered by the sum of the annual provisions for renewal, that is to say, in insurance terms, to the unexpired life of the original work, although this financial factor has to be modified in the light of the actual physical condition of the work to be replaced.

   • 2023 April 18, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea Champions League exit: Where do 'disjointed, broken' Blues go from here?”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Getting the right manager has just been made more difficult by not having Champions League to offer. There will also be a huge churn of players after the lavish, unrewarding outlay this season.

   • 2026 April 21, Cal Flyn, “On the trail with the hunters who believe shooting big game can save Africa’s wildlife”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     Lion hunts are highly choreographed, rarefied affairs; you’re looking at $70,000 before you even load your rifle. Then there are the game fees for the bait you’ll need − a zebra, warthog and a kudu, say − and for the lion itself. All in, you’re looking at a six-figure outlay with no guarantee that you’ll come home with a lion skin for a rug. (Taxidermy not included.)

3. (archaic) A remote haunt or habitation.
   • c. 1609, Francis Beaumont, Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding:

     I know her and her haunts, Her lays, leaps, and outlays, and will discover all.

Translations

the spending of money, or an expenditure

• Arabic: مَصْرُوف m (maṣrūf), مَصَارِيف pl (maṣārīf)
• Belarusian: расхо́д m (rasxód), выда́так m (vydátak)
• Bulgarian: ра́зход (bg) m (rázhod), разно́ски (bg) f pl (raznóski)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 費用 / 费用 (zh) (fèiyòng)

• Czech: útrata f, výdaj (cs) m
• Danish: udlæg n
• Finnish: kulut (fi) pl, menot (fi) pl, kustannukset (fi) pl
• French: dépense (fr) f
• Galician: investimento (gl) m
• German: Ausgabe (de) f, Aufwand (de) m
• Hungarian: kiadás (hu), költség (hu)
• Irish: costas m
• Japanese: 支出 (ja) (ししゅつ, shishutsu), 費用 (ja) (ひよう, hiyō)
• Korean: 비용(費用) (ko) (biyong)
• Latin: impensa (la) f, impendium n
• Russian: расхо́ды (ru) m pl (rasxódy), затра́ты (ru) f pl (zatráty)
• Spanish: gasto (es) m
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: خرج (harc)

• Ukrainian: розхі́д m (rozxíd), вида́ток m (vydátok)

Verb

outlay (third-person singular simple present outlays, present participle outlaying, simple past and past participle outlaid)

1. (transitive) To lay or spread out; expose; display.
   • 1612, Michael Drayton, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for M[athew] Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, →OCLC:

     Their boggy breasts out-lay, and Skipton down doth crawl

2. (transitive) To spend, or distribute money.

Translations

to spend, or distribute money

• Bulgarian: харча (bg) (harča)
• Catalan: gastar (ca)
• Czech: utratit (cs) pf, utrácet
• Finnish: käyttää (fi)
• French: dépenser (fr)
• Galician: investir (gl)
• Hungarian: költ (hu), fordít (hu), ráfordít (hu)
• Ido: spensar (io)
• Italian: spendere (it)
• Russian: тра́тить (ru) (trátitʹ), расходовать (ru) (rasxodovatʹ)
• Spanish: gastar (es)

Anagrams

• lay out, lay-out, layout