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

To get a better sense of how tariffs can affect spending choices, it's important to understand how tariffs work.

From Salon

For now, according to Politico, lawmakers seem poised to extend the 2018 Farm Bill for another year, likely attaching it to a must-pass spending measure or a continuing resolution.

From Salon

They spend weekends and evenings after work searching for her, and vow to go door to door until they reach every house in the San Fernando Valley to find her, Sidhu said.

From Los Angeles Times

Zeldovich spends less time on the hurdles these medicines still face.

From Salon

Meanwhile, in last month's Budget the government announced almost £70bn of extra spending each year.

From BBC

Related Words

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