expend

verb

ex·​pend ik-ˈspend How to pronounce expend (audio)
expended; expending; expends

transitive verb

1
: to pay out : spend
the social services upon which public revenue is expendedJ. A. Hobson
2
: to make use of for a specific purpose : utilize
projects on which they expended great energy
also : use up
expender noun

Examples of expend in a Sentence

Are we willing to expend the time and resources required to solve the problem? redecoration will have to wait, since we've just expended our last dollar in buying the house
Recent Examples on the Web For now, most of Glasnow’s mental energy is expended on his personal preparation for the upcoming season. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2024 Companies expend considerable resources ensuring that their executives are set up for success, especially when those leaders are tapped to perform a new or different role in the organization. Melanie Hughes, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 Israel has expended massive amounts of materiel in its campaign in Gaza, requiring two emergency efforts by the Biden administration to expedite resupply by bypassing congressional oversight, much to the chagrin of some of the Senate Democrats whom Biden will need to support an Israeli-Saudi deal. Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Iran expended enormous resources, and fully committed Hezbollah, to the Syrian Civil War to ensure its ally Bashar al-Assad remained in power, and thereby to cement its access to northeastern and southern Syria. Seth Cropsey, National Review, 10 Feb. 2024 And that's only one of several races where Democrats are expending a lot of funds on primaries for safe or safe-ish seats. Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 2 Feb. 2024 All mammals are warm-blooded and expend great amounts of energy to keep their insides toasty, and consistently so. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 15 Jan. 2024 Authorities later counted at least 195 shells expended in the Dec. 10 assault, which left 11 people dead, including Almanza’s son. Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2023 Perhaps my efforts are better expended elsewhere? Perhaps. Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'expend.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin expendere to weigh out, expend, from ex- + pendere to weigh — more at spin

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of expend was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near expend

Cite this Entry

“Expend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expend. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

expend

verb
ex·​pend ik-ˈspend How to pronounce expend (audio)
1
: to pay out : spend
expend state funds
2
: use up
expend energy

More from Merriam-Webster on expend

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!