spend

verb

\ ˈspend

spent\ ˈspent

\; spending

Definition of spend

transitive verb

1 : to use up or pay out : expend

2a : 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

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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

But throughout this injury-plagued season, which has seen the Yankees set a major league record with 30 players spending time on the injured list, steps forward have frequently been met with steps backward. — James Wagner, New York Times, "Luis Severino Returns, but the Yankees’ Slew of Injuries Remains a Mystery," 17 Sep. 2019 At issue are differing interpretations over how much that the mayor’s administration can spend on the mayor’s own personnel. — al, "Mobile’s ongoing legal woes threaten timely budget vote," 17 Sep. 2019 NBC News recently revealed that the newspaper had purchased more than $1.5 million worth of pro-Trump Facebook ads, more than most Democratic candidates have spent on their own campaigns. — Seth Hettena, The New Republic, "The Obscure Newspaper Fueling the Far-Right in Europe," 17 Sep. 2019 That's not to suggest that these programs should be cut in order to increase spending on children, Hahn noted. — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, "Why the U.S. may soon spend more on its debt than on kids," 17 Sep. 2019 To close annual budget gaps, district leaders have been forced to postpone spending on technology and cut funding to nonprofits that support district. — BostonGlobe.com, "PROVIDENCE — How did this happen?," 17 Sep. 2019 His group spent $25 million on an unsuccessful rent control ballot measure in 2018 and has already drafted a do-over effort for 2020. — Los Angeles Times, "News Analysis: California’s Legislature tackled big issues in 2019. Bigger fights might be coming," 16 Sep. 2019 Hunter also was accused of spending campaign money on extramarital affairs. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Prosecutors describe appeal by Rep. Duncan Hunter as frivolous, urge court to reject it," 16 Sep. 2019 Defensive line The Lions spent a lot of money on their defensive line and the returns through two games have been ... disappointing. — Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Lions stock watch: High-priced defensive line remains quiet," 16 Sep. 2019

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.

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Statistics for spend

Last Updated

15 Oct 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for spend

The first known use of spend was in the 13th century

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More Definitions for spend

spend

verb

English Language Learners Definition of spend

: 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

See the full definition for spend in the English Language Learners Dictionary

spend

verb

\ ˈspend

spent\ ˈspent \; spending

Kids Definition of spend

1 : to use (money) to pay for something

2 : to cause or allow (as time) to pass … he parked his car … and was spending considerable time walking about town.— Robert McCloskey, Homer Price

3 : to use wastefully : squander She spends a lot of energy worrying.