misspend

[ mis-spend ]

verb (used with object)

, mis·spent, mis·spend·ing.

1. to spend wrongly or unwisely; squander; waste.

misspend

/ ˌmɪsˈspɛnd /

verb

1. to spend thoughtlessly or wastefully

Derived Forms

• ˌmisˈspender, noun

Other Words From

• mis·spender noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of misspend¹

1350–1400; Middle English. See mis- ¹, spend

Example Sentences

Davis pleaded guilty in September 2022 to state and federal charges in a conspiracy to misspend tens of millions of dollars that were intended to help needy families in one of the poorest states in the U.S.

From Seattle Times

“We welcome any legally qualified candidate to enter the race, and our campaign will continue to focus on Tate Reeves’ failed record of allowing criminals to misspend $77 million of Mississippians’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars meant for working families on luxury cars, steak dinners, and even a volleyball stadium,” Beyer said.

From Washington Times

I usually send out the quiz in the morning, except to those friends who are still working; I don’t want to tempt them to “misspend” 15 minutes of company time, so they receive it later that evening.

From Washington Post

I am so curious—what wild thing did you “misspend” on when you were 8 years old that your mother still holds a grudge over?!

From Slate

Office of Campaign Finance ruled as an unethical and improper bid to misspend public campaign funds on polling for the Ward 3 Democratic primary in which she wasn’t running.

From Washington Post