Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Expense \Ex*pense"\, n. [L. expensa (sc. pecunia), or expensum,
   fr. expensus, p. p. of expendere. See {Expend}.]
   1. A spending or consuming; disbursement; expenditure.

            Husband nature's riches from expense. --Shak.

   2. That which is expended, laid out, or consumed; cost;
      outlay; charge; -- sometimes with the notion of loss or
      damage to those on whom the expense falls; as, the
      expenses of war; an expense of time.

            Courting popularity at his party's expense.
                                                  --Brougham.

   3. Loss. [Obs.] --Shak.

            And moan the expense of many a vanished sight.
                                                  --Spenser.

   {Expense magazine} (Mil.), a small magazine containing
      ammunition for immediate use. --H. L. Scott.

Source : WordNet®

expense
     n 1: amounts paid for goods and services that may be currently
          tax deductible (as opposed to capital expenditures)
          [syn: {disbursal}, {disbursement}]
     2: a detriment or sacrifice; "at the expense of"
     3: money spent to perform work and usually reimbursed by an
        employer; "he kept a careful record of his expenses at the
        meeting"