at the expense of
To another's detriment
At the expense of means with the sacrifice or loss of something else.
A gain in one area comes at the expense of another: She pursued her career at the expense of her health.
The phrase can also mean paid for by someone: He lived lavishly at the expense of his parents.
In either sense, something or someone bears the cost.
- burdenOppressive weight or duty
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- drawbackUnfavorable feature or flaw
- lesser evilMore acceptable harm
- prioritizationRanking by importance
penalty · forfeiture · displacement · short end of the stick · exploitation · substitution · redistribution · inequity · depletion · harm · erosion · hidden cost · damage · toll · exchange · rob Peter to pay Paul · imbalance · concession
expense, expenses, expensive, expensively, inexpensive, inexpensively, expend, expends, expended