meet a debt/cost/expense etc
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmeet a debt/cost/expense etcmeet a debt/cost/expense etcPAY FORto make a payment that needs to be made The government has promised to meet the cost of clearing up after the floods. → meetExamples from the Corpusmeet a debt/cost/expense etc• Barnardo's had to draw £1.7 million from its reserves to meet costs.