spend

verb \ ˈspend \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Examples: spend in a Sentence

Definition of spend

spent play \ˈspent\; spending

transitive verb

1 : to use up or pay out : expend

2 a : exhaust, wear out

the hurricane gradually spent itself

b : to consume wastefully : squander

the waters are not ours to spend
—J. R. Ellis

3 : to cause or permit to elapse : pass

spend the night

4 : give up, sacrifice

intransitive verb

1 : to expend or waste wealth or strength

2 : to become expended or consumed

3 : to have an orgasm

—

spendable

play \ˈspen-də-bəl\ adjective

—

spender

noun

See spend defined for English-language learners

See spend defined for kids

Examples of spend in a Sentence

I spent on his birthday gift.
They spend a lot on clothes and cars.
I want to buy a new car, but I don't have much money to spend.
Her willingness to spend freely made her popular among her friends.
He spends lavishly on vacations.
I spent my summer at the beach.
She spent eight months living in New York City.
Relaxing with friends is a great way to spend a weekend.
Our cat spends most of his time sleeping.
Too much of my time is spent arguing with customers.

Recent Examples of spend from the Web

The 38-year-old, who enjoyed an illustrious 17-year career at Anfield on the pitch, left the Reds in 2015 to spend his final season in MLS as part of LA Galaxy's set up.

— SI.com, "Steven Gerrard Reveals Differences in Leaving Liverpool Second Time Around for Rangers Job," 8 June 2018
People are turning to Facebook and their friends to determine where to spend their arts dollars.

— deanna isaacs, Chicago Reader, "Do we really need theater critics?," 8 June 2018
The phony-baloney nature of the rescissions, mostly aimed at on-paper authority to spend money that was not going to be spent, has created a political quandary for people in both parties.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "After Blowing Up the Deficit, House Passes Mostly Phony Spending Cuts," 8 June 2018
True audiophiles will still want to spend more, but for most of us, this is a straightforward solution that’s super simple to set-up, and saves hundreds — if not thousands — versus the cost of a new TV.

— jennifer jolly, USA TODAY, "Cheap ways to fix annoying tech problems, from slow Wi-Fi to phone charging to old TVs and cars," 7 June 2018
How much more is Kounalakis willing to spend to win a position that, frankly, doesn't have much in the way of official duties?

— alexei koseff, sacbee, "Rent control, data privacy and gas taxes for roads: Get ready for the next election," 7 June 2018
Her plan upon leaving her hospital gig in 2001 was to spend most of her time out hiking the trails of her native North Carolina.

— ariella gintzler, Outside Online, "The AT's Fairy Godmother Makes Ingenious Tents," 7 June 2018
This year, after no invite came to celebrate their 2017 title at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the team decided to spend an off day in Washington handing out Jordan Brand shoes and Nike socks to more than 300 students at the Payne Elementary School.

— doug feinberg, Houston Chronicle, "WNBA champion Lynx, with no invite from White House, spend day in Washington for community service," 7 June 2018
Donald Trump made his mark in the cutthroat world of New York real estate the way a tough-minded poker player bullies those at the table with less money to spend.

— ian bremmer, Time, "U.S. Allies Are Ready to Turn Their Backs on Trump at the G-7 Summit," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spend.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of spend

Middle English, from Old English -spendan, from Medieval Latin expendere to disburse, use up, from Latin, to measure by weight, pay out — more at expend

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

spend Synonyms

Phrases

run out of;

SPEND Defined for English Language Learners

spend

verb

Definition of spend for English Language Learners

: to use (money) to pay for something
: to allow (time) to pass in a particular place or while doing a particular activity
: to use (energy or effort) to do something