defray

verb

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

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

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

   “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.”

2. To pay for (something).
3. To spend (money).