at the expense of

1. Also, at one's expense.

2. Paid for by someone, as in The hotel bill for the sales force is at the expense of the company . [Mid-1600s]

3. To the detriment or injury of a person or thing, as in We can't speed up production at the expense of quality , or The laughter was all at Tom's expense . [Late 1600s]

Example Sentences

It’s easy to traffic in cheap jokes at the expense of professions most of the audience doesn’t hold in high regard or think about much, if at all.

From Salon

It’s easy to traffic in cheap jokes at the expense of professions most of the audience doesn’t hold in high regard or think about much, if at all.

From Salon

Safe streets activists say those guidelines guard drivers’ time and security at the expense of pedestrians on roads like Florida’s US-19, the country’s most dangerous.

From Slate

Once the flurry of deals put together over the final few days of the window began to take shape, and having assessed the mistakes made by Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana in the preceding games, they decided to make a further addition to their goalkeeping roster at the expense of strengthening their midfield.

From BBC

Incidents like that may look very different from the sorts of confrontations Americans are now witnessing on their streets, but they remind me that we have long lived in a country where unfettered capitalism at the expense of so many of us thrives on violence meant specifically to silence people at the bottom.

From Salon