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Glite Dictionary
minor expense

minor expense

1 3.0
A small amount of money spent on everyday work items like parking or snacks
  • noun
translation icon : gasto menor
  • It is a minor expense to maintain the dignity of the tomb and all it represents.

Examples

  • Even with several minor expenses here and there, I was still within my budget for the month.

  • A common insurance deductible is $500, which is not a minor expense for most people.

    Blog text (8)

  • Buying a new pair of shoes was just a minor expense in my monthly budget.

  • After reviewing my finances, I realized that the coffee I buy daily is a minor expense.

Synonyms

small change
vsminor expense
10 2.3

A small amount of money in coins that is not worth much

is a small cost often considered in budgeting not only tiny coins
small fee
vsminor expense
9 1.0

A small extra payment you give to use a service

is a small cost that may not be a formal required payment
incidental expense
vsminor expense
5.3

A small extra cost not planned in a budget

is often unspecified in budgets rather than always unexpected

How Expensive

big-ticket
15 5.1
substantial
394 5.0
minor expense
1 3.0

Surface Forms

minor expense singular
minor expenses plural

Morphology

minor + expense

The meaning 'a small expense' follows directly from combining 'minor' (slight/not important) with 'expense' (money spent), so the overall sense is fully compositional. This adjective + noun pattern is routine and cross-linguistically common, meaning a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The compound noun minor expense comes from the picture of a small box of coins used to pay tiny costs like coffee or parking. The word minor means small and expense means a cost. So, the phrase now refers to 'a small cost' that is often not listed separately.