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.
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.1945 March and April, T. F. Cameron, “New Works Procedure”, in Railway Magazine, page 72:
2 more examples
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.2023 April 18, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea Champions League exit: Where do 'disjointed, broken' Blues go from here?”, in BBC Sport:
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.)2026 April 21, Cal Flyn, “On the trail with the hunters who believe shooting big game can save Africa’s wildlife”, in The Guardian:
I know her and her haunts, Her lays, leaps, and outlays, and will discover all.c. 1609, Francis Beaumont, Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding:
outlay
verb
/aʊtˈleɪ/
Etymology From out- + lay.
1
To lay or spread out; expose; display.
Their boggy breasts out-lay, and Skipton down doth crawl1612, 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: