as in to spend
to use up carelessly
warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed
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Recent Examples of misspend
The move to shut down the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) comes as part of an unprecedented push by President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Musk to shrink the federal government, saying U.S. taxpayer money is misspent.
—
Simon Lewis, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025
While Argentina has received massive IMF loans in the past, previous governments had misspent most of the funds on subsidies to win elections.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025
Local officials also break the law, such as when health officials in Mississippi misspent federal funds for needy people on a volleyball stadium.
—Kevin R. Kosar, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Mar. 2025
Attorneys continue to await trial details for a former Caltrain manager who has been charged with misspending agency funds to build himself a secret apartment at a train station, and is expected to be challenged by his one-time co-defendant who has agreed to testify for the prosecution.
—Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Simon Lewis, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025
While Argentina has received massive IMF loans in the past, previous governments had misspent most of the funds on subsidies to win elections.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025
Local officials also break the law, such as when health officials in Mississippi misspent federal funds for needy people on a volleyball stadium.
—Kevin R. Kosar, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Mar. 2025
Attorneys continue to await trial details for a former Caltrain manager who has been charged with misspending agency funds to build himself a secret apartment at a train station, and is expected to be challenged by his one-time co-defendant who has agreed to testify for the prosecution.
—Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspend
spend
Verb
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Ford dropped it from the Explorer’s retail lineup, but continues to offer it in police vehicles, which benefit from its ability to power AC and other accessories without running the engine when parked, as patrol vehicles often spend lots of time doing.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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California’s legal fight to get those funds back–which hadn’t been spent–will take months if not years to resolve.—
Alan Ohnsman,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misspend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspend. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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