Other forms: defrayed, defraying
To defray is to pay part or all of a cost. Defray the expenses, help defray the cost, defray it from the fund.
It is formal and almost always takes cost, expenses or charges as its object — nobody defrays a bill in speech. It means covering somebody else's outlay rather than paying your own. The French dé plus frais, expense, is behind it.
1verbdefrayTo pay part or all of a cost.
“The company will defray the cost of your travel to the interview.”
defray is a paying.
Middle French desfrayer comes from des- plus frais, expense or cost.
Old French
fraier — to spend
French
défrayer
Middle French
desfrayer
English, today
defray
From Middle French desfrayer, French défrayer, from dé- + Old French fraier (“to spend”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA