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.

Related Words

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