English Reference
Noun

outlay

n.
C1 Advanced US /ˈaʊtˌɫeɪ/ UK /ˈaʊtleɪ/ out·lay UK spelling outlay's, outlay's

n.the total amount of money you spend on something. It is often used when talking about a large expense, like buying a house or starting a business.

n.the total sum of money spent on a particular project or venture. Often used in financial or business contexts to describe initial capital expenditure.


SIMPLE

The initial outlay for the new factory was very high.

CONTEXTUAL

The company managed to recoup its initial outlay within six months of launching the new product line.

COMPLEX

While the initial outlay for renewable energy infrastructure remains significant, the long-term savings on fuel costs often justify the investment for large-scale industrial operations.

On top of the purchase price, FSG have since facilitated intra-group loans of about £218m, meaning a total outlay of about £518m.

BBC News· 14 Aug 2026

The financial outlay can also be relatively small.

BBC News· 15 Aug 2026

From out- + lay.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated