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

Companies expend a great deal of effort, time, and energy to appeal to millennial workers. — Adia Harvey Wingfield, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

But the United States has expended much of its stockpile of precision munitions and suffered substantial damage to its regional bases. — Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2026

Specific inventory numbers are classified, but CSIS estimates that about 65% of Patriot interceptors were expended between February and July, with less than 850 left on hand, down from 2,330 before the Iran war began. — James Powel, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026

Pacific Legal argued this was part of the problem — a private group of unelected activists had repeatedly forced others to expend resources defending themselves. — Michael Phillis, Fortune, 8 Aug. 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