1
: the act of expending
2
: expenditure, payment
outlays for national defense
Examples of outlay in a Sentence
Verb
the nation had outlaid nearly 20 billion dollars on social programs at that point
Noun
The initial outlay for the program will be 2.4 million dollars.
Maintaining a horse requires considerable outlay.
Recent Examples on the Web
Paresh Dave, Wired News, 24 Dec. 2025
Vasquez then asked if the RDA had outlaid any money for LaPorte County for shoreline development.
—Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2025
Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Meantime, outlays rose at building materials stores and sporting goods retailers.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outlay
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Verb
Microsoft plans to outlay $4 billion in the next five years worldwide.
—Paresh Dave, Wired News, 24 Dec. 2025
Vasquez then asked if the RDA had outlaid any money for LaPorte County for shoreline development.
—Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2025
Noun
By 2036, mandatory outlays such as Social Security and major health care programs such as Medicaid and Medicare will total more than $7 trillion, vying for the majority of the government’s funding before discretionary spending can be allocated.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Meantime, outlays rose at building materials stores and sporting goods retailers.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outlay
Cite this Entry
“Outlay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outlay. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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