defray

CEFRC1

/dɪˈfɹeɪ/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

Examples

The government was compelled to defray the costs of the war.
Investors, meanwhile, got back a fraction of their money. Some say Mr Meinl’s €100m bail, paid by a source in Liechtenstein, should be used to defray their losses.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Also pronounced

Deep Dive

Extra meanings

In context

The expenses of the war, while in progress, were defrayed by executing rich men and confiscating their property.
In order to help defray the substantial costs involved, they then raised revenue through taking advertisements.

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

The word in print, with each source given in full.

The expenses of the war, while in progress, were defrayed by executing rich men and confiscating their property.
1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.29
Investors, meanwhile, got back a fraction of their money. Some say Mr Meinl’s €100m bail, paid by a source in Liechtenstein, should be used to defray their losses.
2009 July 30, ‘A Viennese grind’, The Economist
In order to help defray the substantial costs involved, they then raised revenue through taking advertisements.
2010 December 9, Roy Greenslade, The Guardian
With his legal maneuverings, Trump is showing that he also understands the implications of this election — one that could give him substantial powers as president to defray or dismiss many of the legal threats that he’s facing and to behave in office without future accountability.
2024 February 5, Stephen Collinson, “Trump’s legal battles are at a critical moment with major implications for the 2024 election”, in CNN

Looking a word up is the easy part. LexUp remembers which words you have met and brings them back at the point you were about to forget them.

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