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Project Management vocabulary · Budget & Cost

Cost overrun

Meaning in project management, with examples

/ˈkɔːst ˌoʊvərʌn/nounCommon term

In project management, cost overrun means: The amount by which the actual cost of a project or task is higher than its approved budget.

In Turkish: maliyet aşımı, bütçe aşımı

How it is used

A formal term used in reports, audits and news about large public projects. Projects have, suffer or face cost overruns, and people try to prevent or explain them. Similar: budget overrun, schedule overrun.

Example sentences

  1. Most of the cost overrun came from overtime in the last two months.

  2. The audit report lists a cost overrun of 1.2 million euros on the new terminal.

Common collocations

  • significant cost overrun
  • face cost overruns
  • avoid cost overruns
  • budget overrun
  • over budgetCosting more than the amount of money that was planned and approved.
  • budgetThe total amount of money approved for a project, usually broken down into costs such as staff, equipment, suppliers and a reserve for surprises.
  • forecastA prediction of how much a project will cost in the end or when it will finish, based on progress and spending so far.
  • earned valueThe planned budget value of the work actually completed so far. Comparing it with planned value and actual cost shows whether a project is ahead or behind and under or over budget.

More terms: Budget & Cost

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