spend

[ spend ]

verb (used with object)

, spent, spend·ing.

1. to pay out, disburse, or expend; dispose of (money, wealth, resources, etc.):

   resisting the temptation to spend one's money.

   Antonyms: keep, earn

2. to employ (labor, thought, words, time, etc.), as on some object or in some proceeding:

   Don't spend much time on it.

   Synonyms: devote, apply, use

3. to pass (time) in a particular manner, place, etc.:

   We spent a few days in Baltimore.

4. to use up, consume, or exhaust:

   The storm had spent its fury.

5. to give (one's blood, life, etc.) for some cause.

verb (used without object)

, spent, spend·ing.

1. to spend money, energy, time, etc.
2. Obsolete. to be consumed or exhausted.

spend

/ spɛnd /

verb

1. to pay out (money, wealth, etc)
2. tr to concentrate (time, effort, thought, etc) upon an object, activity, etc
3. tr to pass (time) in a specific way, activity, place, etc
4. tr to use up completely

   the hurricane spent its force

5. tr to give up (one's blood, life, etc) in a cause
6. obsolete.
   intr to be used up or exhausted
7. spend a penny informal.
   to urinate

noun

1. an amount of money spent, esp regularly, or allocated to be spent

Derived Forms

• ˈspendable, adjective

Other Words From

• anti·spending adjective
• under·spend verb underspent underspending
• un·spending adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spend¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English spenden, continuing Old English -spendan (in āspendan, forspendan “to spend entirely or utterly”), from West Germanic, from Latin expendere “to pay out, spend, expend” ( expend ); compare German spenden

Word History and Origins

Origin of spend¹

Old English spendan, from Latin expendere; influenced also by Old French despendre to spend, from Latin dispendere; see expend , dispense

Idioms and Phrases

see pocket (spending) money .

Synonym Study

Spend, disburse, expend, squander refer to paying out money. Spend is the general word: We spend more for living expenses now. Disburse implies expending from a specific source or sum to meet specific obligations, or paying in definite allotments: The treasurer has authority to disburse funds. Expend is more formal, and implies spending for some definite and (usually) sensible or worthy object: to expend most of one's salary on necessities. Squander suggests lavish, wasteful, or foolish expenditure: to squander a legacy.

Example Sentences

He "possessed an inherent ability to connect with people about the issues that mattered to them - a talent that others spend years studying and cultivating, but that was second nature to him," Gore added.

From BBC

I get to spend a lot of time in schools and colleges and talking to young people who are new voters and so many of them are just growing up jaded with the system.

From Salon

Elephants spend a lot of time taking care of their skin.

From NewsForKids.net

Hortiz began as a personnel assistant and steadily climbed the ranks, spending 26 seasons immersed in the Ravens’ culture and the last five as their director of player personnel.

From Los Angeles Times

"I definitely don’t want to be racing in F1 until I’m 40 years old. You only live once and I don’t want to spend half of it racing cars."

From BBC

Related Words

• allocate
• concentrate
• consume
• contribute
• donate
• drop
• employ
• expend
• give
• invest
• put in
• settle
• use
• waste