spent

adjective

\ ˈspent

Definition of spent

1a : used up : consumed

b : exhausted of active or required components or qualities often for a particular purpose spent nuclear fuel

2 : drained of energy or effectiveness : exhausted

3 : exhausted of spawn or sperm spent fishes

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about spent

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Examples of spent in a Sentence

he plopped down in his chair, completely spent, and then fell asleep

Recent Examples on the Web

The three reactors at the Tomari plant had switched to emergency backup generators to keep spent fuel safely cooled. — Fox News, "The Latest: 9 dead, 30 missing in northern Japan quake," 6 Sep. 2018 By the summer of 2017, the Left Trolls were mostly a spent force. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Why Facebook banned Alex Jones — and Twitter didn’t," 11 Aug. 2018 Many are located along the coast, where the material from the spent pyrotechnics gets blown ashore and moved around. — Gary Robbins, latimes.com, "Monitoring the air around July Fourth fireworks for signs of dangerous lead," 4 July 2018 Units 4, 5, and 6 were shut down, albeit with spent reactor fuel sitting in pools that required cooling. — Andrew Karam, Popular Mechanics, "Five Years Later, Cutting Through the Fukushima Myths," 11 Mar. 2016 The victim was found face-down on the ground, with blood covering his face and three spent casings next to his body. — Lori Higgins, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Police investigate two fatal shootings on city's east side," 14 July 2018 Family and friends spent days trying to contact Eastman, to no avail. — Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, "Missing Wash. Teen Found Dead — and Childhood Friend Charged in Sex Assault, Beating Death," 3 July 2018 Many are located along the coast, where the material from the spent pyrotechnics gets blown ashore and moved around. — Gary Robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "UC San Diego to monitor fireworks explosions for traces of lead," 3 July 2018 Caving and diving experts from the U.S., China, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Thailand’s own version of the Navy SEALS had all spent days trying to reach the team. — J. Weston Phippen, Outside Online, "The Thai Soccer Team Trapped in a Cave Was Found Alive," 2 July 2018

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