1
as in to spend
to hand over or use up in payment
redecoration will have to wait, since we've just expended our last dollar in buying the house
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to consume
to make complete use of
settlers had to be sure not to expend their supply of firewood before the end of the long winter
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of expend
Some Gulf states have used a significant portion of their interceptor inventories, with estimates suggesting Bahrain may have expended up to 87% of its Patriot missiles, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have used roughly 75% and Qatar has used roughly 40%.
—
Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 26 Mar. 2026
The presidential mandate, in part, directed officials to stop expending federal funds on the medical modification of prisoners who identify as transgender.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Mar. 2026
The state expended another 62,000 hours just from July through November, for a total of 154,000 hours expended over a period of about nine months.
—Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026
With one missile – particularly one outfitted with cluster munitions – Iran can send millions of Israelis into bomb shelters and cause Israel and the US to continue expending a finite supply of costly missile interceptors.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for expend
Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 26 Mar. 2026
The presidential mandate, in part, directed officials to stop expending federal funds on the medical modification of prisoners who identify as transgender.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Mar. 2026
The state expended another 62,000 hours just from July through November, for a total of 154,000 hours expended over a period of about nine months.
—Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026
With one missile – particularly one outfitted with cluster munitions – Iran can send millions of Israelis into bomb shelters and cause Israel and the US to continue expending a finite supply of costly missile interceptors.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for expend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expend
Verb
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Factor in a tax multiplier for those who repeatedly spend past the salary cap, and payroll expenses can include hundreds of millions in taxes.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
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How in the world had my mother, a young Black woman and the eldest of four, raised by two parents who had never finished high school in a segregated town in southwestern Louisiana, spent a summer in Europe in the 1960s?—
Shayla Martin,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Its companion Renpho Health app (available for Android and iOS) tracks 50 health metrics, but some (like calories consumed and burned) rely on your input or external sources.—
Andrew Gebhart,
PC Magazine,
5 Apr. 2026
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Fierce in expression but controlled in form, the 1959 LP draws out a rootsy warmth from beneath the bebop that had consumed bandstands since World War II, forging a sound that feels at once confrontational, mischievous, and generous.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
Pitchfork,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Many players also opt for deferrals and large signing bonuses (as opposed to a higher salary) to avoid paying income tax in certain states.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
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The paying public went from raucous to delirious on the next possession, when Curry raced downcourt and splashed a triple off the dribble.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Some fruit trees might prefer wet weather and moist earth, but others will perform best with well-draining, sandy soil.—
Emily Hayes,
Martha Stewart,
2 Apr. 2026
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That includes details that criminals can use to drain accounts, open loans, or impersonate you.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The idea that forms of artistic expression can exhaust themselves is nothing new.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
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In 2018, pregnant with her third child, Kate Ames was exhausted.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Stony rubbish, dead trees, the odd corpse in the garden—nothing that couldn’t be absorbed back into the earth.—
Caroline Fraser,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
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In more severe cases of hair loss, a doctor might prescribe oral minoxidil, which is generally absorbed better by the body but also typically comes with more side effects.—
Rebecca Strong,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Expend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expend. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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