misspend

verb

mis·​spend ˌmis-ˈspend How to pronounce misspend (audio)
misspent ˌmis-ˈspent How to pronounce misspend (audio) ; misspending

transitive verb

: to spend wrongly : squander
a misspent life

Examples of misspend in a Sentence

Several government officials have been accused of misspending public money. warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed
Recent Examples on the Web The former director of the state's welfare agency pleaded guilty last year in a conspiracy to misspend the millions of dollars in the largest public corruption case in the state's history. Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 7 Nov. 2023 The Associated Press reported June 13 that scammers and swindlers potentially swiped about $280 billion in COVID-19 emergency aid; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Richard Lardner, Fortune, 27 June 2023 California has seen multiple other controversies in recent years, not just A3, involving people accused of misspending public dollars through charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently run. Kristen Taketa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Dec. 2023 At least $77 million in federal funds intended for Mississippi's poor were either misspent or given to wealthy and connected Mississippians in the years between 2017 and 2020, when Reeves was lieutenant governor, according to the state auditor's office. Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 7 Nov. 2023 In other words, the money was misplaced rather than misspent. Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2023 Oil-rich Libya, which has a government surplus, has years of missing and misspent funds. Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Sep. 2023 An Associated Press analysis published in June found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Richard Lardner, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2023 The watchdog report released Tuesday that revealed how some $200 billion in COVID-19 aid was potentially misspent threw into sharper relief how one pandemic-era program emerged above all others as a magnet for fraudsters: the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, or EIDL. Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News, 28 June 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of misspend was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near misspend

Cite this Entry

“Misspend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misspend. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

misspend

verb
mis·​spend (ˈ)mis-ˈspend How to pronounce misspend (audio)
misspent -ˈspent How to pronounce misspend (audio) ; misspending
: waste entry 2 sense 3, squander
a misspent youth

More from Merriam-Webster on misspend

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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