Defray

//dɪˈfɹeɪ// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To pay or discharge (a debt, expense etc.); to meet (the cost of something). transitive

    "The expenses of the war, while in progress, were defrayed by executing rich men and confiscating their property."

  2. 2
    bear the expenses of wordnet
  3. 3
    To pay for (something). archaic, transitive
  4. 4
    To spend (money). obsolete, transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
acknowledgeante upbear the expensechip inclearcover

Example

More examples

"Families want to educate their children and can, in principle, defray the costs with the greater incomes that education generates."

Etymology

From Middle French desfrayer, French défrayer, from dé- + Old French fraier (“to spend”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.