defray
verb /dɪˈfreɪ/
/dɪˈfreɪ/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they defray | /dɪˈfreɪ/ /dɪˈfreɪ/ |
| he / she / it defrays | /dɪˈfreɪz/ /dɪˈfreɪz/ |
| past simple defrayed | /dɪˈfreɪd/ /dɪˈfreɪd/ |
| past participle defrayed | /dɪˈfreɪd/ /dɪˈfreɪd/ |
| -ing form defraying | /dɪˈfreɪɪŋ/ /dɪˈfreɪɪŋ/ |
- defray costs/expenses to give somebody back the money that they have spent on something
- $2 million of the capital reserve was used to defray the costs of rebuilding the factory.
- Proceeds from the raffle always help to defray the expenses of the annual dance.
- While he was in prison his house and its furniture were sold to defray his debts.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryDefray is used with these nouns as the object:- cost
- expense
Word Originlate Middle English (in the general sense ‘spend money’): from French défrayer, from dé- (expressing removal) + obsolete frai ‘cost, expenses’ (from medieval Latin fredum ‘a fine for breach of the peace’).