spend

verb

ˈspend 

spent 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

ˈspen-də-bəl 

adjective

spender noun

Synonyms

• disburse
• drop
• expend
• fork (over, out, or up)
• give
• lay out
• outlay
• pay
• shell out

Examples of spend in a Sentence

I spent $30 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 on the Web

And four years later, their collection of groups spent $42 million to unsuccessfully keep Trump from becoming the nominee for a third time. —Philip Elliott, Time, 2 May 2025

At Alpha School, students spend just two hours a day in class, guided by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tutor. —Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 2 May 2025

Trump, Biden allies divided over GDP report One crisis away from homelessness While discretionary spending is somewhat determined by priorities, income is the key factor when calculating what and where to spend. —Rachel Barber, USA Today, 2 May 2025

People are back to many parts of their old routines and ways to spend their leisure time, cutting game time notably for many. —David Bloom, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing spend

• spend/stay the night
• spend the night
• spend the night together
• spend the night with (someone)

Rhymes for spend

• blend
• blende
• denned
• end
• fend
• friend
• lend
• mend
• penned
• send
• tend
• trend

Kids Definition

spend

verb

ˈspend 

spent ˈspent  ; spending

1

: to pay out : expend

2

: to cause or allow (as time) to pass

spent the day with friends

3

a

: exhaust entry 1 sense 1, wear out

b

: to use wastefully : squander

spender noun