expend

verb

ex·​pend ik-ˈspend 

expended; expending; expends

transitive verb

1

: to pay out : spend

… the social services upon which public revenue is expended.

—J. A. Hobson

2

: to make use of for a specific purpose : utilize

projects on which they expended great energy

also : use up

expender noun

Synonyms of expend

• spend
• pay

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

Drone swarms could expose or distract enemy defenses, forcing them to expend interceptors and reveal their positions. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 21 July 2026

However, participants didn’t necessarily expend significantly less energy overall during the sleep-restriction period, according to David Creel, PhD, an exercise physiologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Enterprise Obesity Center. — Brian Mastroianni, Health, 20 July 2026

These capabilities reduce friction by giving workers more time to focus on meaningful, high-value work rather than constantly expending energy navigating systems and processes. — Jennifer Lee, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Removing spent flowers will prevent the plant from expending energy to form seed heads. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 17 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English expenden, exspenden, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French espendre, expendre, borrowed from Latin expendere "to weigh, pay out, disburse," from ex- ex- entry 1 + pendere "to weigh, have a weight of, pay (out), estimate, consider" — more at pendent

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for expend

• amend
• append
• ascend
• attend
• backend
• befriend
• boyfriend
• commend
• compend
• contend
• defend
• depend

Kids Definition

expend

verb

ex·​pend ik-ˈspend 

1

: to pay out : spend

expend state funds

2

: use up

expend energy