spend
verb
ˈspend 
spent ˈspent ; spending
; spending transitive verb
1
: to use up or pay out : expend
2
a
: exhaust, wear out
the hurricane gradually spent itself
b
: to consume wastefully : squander
the waters are not ours to spend—
J. R. Ellis
J. R. Ellis3
: to cause or permit to elapse : pass
spend the night
4
: give up, sacrifice
intransitive verb
1
: to expend or waste wealth or strength
2
: to become expended or consumed
3
: to have an orgasm
spendable
ˈspen-də-bəl
adjective spender noun
Synonyms
- disburse
- drop
- expend
- fork (over, out, or up)
- give
- lay out
- outlay
- pay
- shell out
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
I spent $30 on his birthday gift. They spend a lot on clothes and cars. I want to buy a new car, but I don't have much money to spend. Her willingness to spend freely made her popular among her friends. He spends lavishly on vacations. I spent my summer at the beach. She spent eight months living in New York City. Relaxing with friends is a great way to spend a weekend. Our cat spends most of his time sleeping. Too much of my time is spent arguing with customers. See More
Recent Examples on the Web Google in particular had a reputation around Silicon Valley as being a place where workers could spend their entire careers, moving between projects and steadily progressing up the pay levels while collecting valuable stock options. —Gerrit De Vynck, Rachel Lerman And Julian Mark, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Feb. 2023 Google in particular had a reputation around Silicon Valley as being a place where workers could spend their entire careers, moving between projects and steadily progressing up the pay levels while collecting valuable stock options. —Julian Mark, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2023 Preakness Stakes will be 3 years old — born the same year as a state law to spend $375 million in public financing to keep the cherished race in Baltimore and buoy the racing industry in Maryland. —Hayes Gardner, Baltimore Sun, 3 Feb. 2023 Interestingly enough, those would be the teams Beathard would spend the majority of his executive career with. —Bryan Manning, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2023 Without the public health emergency, Medicare patients must again spend at least three days in a hospital before the program will cover a nursing home stay, the Globe has reported. —Daniel Kool, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Feb. 2023 Cat trees, cat condos, and other types of feline furniture are ideal for pets that spend all or most of their time indoors. —Theresa Holland, Peoplemag, 2 Feb. 2023 Check out the more than 5,000 acres of plateaus and canyons at the Hill Country State Natural Area or spend the day kayaking along the Medina River. —Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 2 Feb. 2023 Adult monarch butterflies live for a few weeks, whereas monarchs that spend the winter clustered in trees and emerge in late summer and early fall can live up to nine months. —Olga R. Rodriguez, ajc, 1 Feb. 2023 See More
Gerrit De Vynck, Rachel Lerman And Julian Mark, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Feb. 2023 Google in particular had a reputation around Silicon Valley as being a place where workers could spend their entire careers, moving between projects and steadily progressing up the pay levels while collecting valuable stock options. —Julian Mark, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2023 Preakness Stakes will be 3 years old — born the same year as a state law to spend $375 million in public financing to keep the cherished race in Baltimore and buoy the racing industry in Maryland. —Hayes Gardner, Baltimore Sun, 3 Feb. 2023 Interestingly enough, those would be the teams Beathard would spend the majority of his executive career with. —Bryan Manning, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2023 Without the public health emergency, Medicare patients must again spend at least three days in a hospital before the program will cover a nursing home stay, the Globe has reported. —Daniel Kool, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Feb. 2023 Cat trees, cat condos, and other types of feline furniture are ideal for pets that spend all or most of their time indoors. —Theresa Holland, Peoplemag, 2 Feb. 2023 Check out the more than 5,000 acres of plateaus and canyons at the Hill Country State Natural Area or spend the day kayaking along the Medina River. —Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 2 Feb. 2023 Adult monarch butterflies live for a few weeks, whereas monarchs that spend the winter clustered in trees and emerge in late summer and early fall can live up to nine months. —Olga R. Rodriguez, ajc, 1 Feb. 2023 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Old English -spendan, from Medieval Latin expendere to disburse, use up, from Latin, to measure by weight, pay out — more at expend
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Phrases Containing spend
Kids Definition
spend
verb ˈspend
spent ˈspent ; spending
; spending 1
: to pay out : expend
2
: to cause or allow (as time) to pass
spent the day with friends
3
a
: exhaust entry 1 sense 1, wear out
b
: to use wastefully : squander
spender noun
spending
verb
1
as in paying
to hand over or use up in payment I always end up spending too much money at the mall Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- paying
- giving
- expending
- disbursing
- wasting
- outlaying
- laying out
- shelling out
- dropping
- lavishing
- squandering
- raining
- forking (over, out, or up)
- dissipating
- blowing
- throwing away
- running through
- frittering (away)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- saving
- making
- earning
- hoarding
- acquiring
- procuring
- realizing
- securing
- gaining
- winning
- caching
- laying up
- garnering
2
as in consuming
to make complete use of the town has already spent its budget for snow removal, and it's only January Synonyms & Similar Words
- consuming
- draining
- exhausting
- reducing
- absorbing
- eating
- burning
- using
- depleting
- expending
- wasting
- devouring
- decreasing
- emptying
- playing out
- drawing down
- diminishing
- using up
- lowering
- downsizing
- weakening
- dwindling
- running out of
- undermining
- bankrupting
- impoverishing
- crippling
- sapping
- squandering
- lessening
- misspending
- blowing
- lavishing
- debilitating
- guzzling
- disabling
- abating
- dissipating
- drying up
- de-escalating
- enfeebling
- cleaning (out)
- throwing away
- running through
- frittering (away)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- increasing
- replacing
- augmenting
- renewing
- enforcing
- enlarging
- saving
- reinforcing
- strengthening
- repairing
- rebuilding
- restoring
- preserving
- bolstering
- reviving
- conserving
- fortifying
- reenforcing
3
as in wasting
to use up carelessly spent all his energy on impractical schemes Synonyms & Similar Words
- wasting
- losing
- misspending
- lavishing
- squandering
- consuming
- blowing
- dissipating
- splurging
- throwing away
- running through
- overspending
- indulging
- fiddling away
- depleting
- exhausting
- expending
- impoverishing
- playing ducks and drakes with
- overindulging
- frittering (away)
- making ducks and drakes of
- disbursing
- trifling (away)
- shooting
- laying out
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- conserving
- saving
- economizing
- protecting
- preserving
- scrimping
- skimping
- hoarding
- laying up