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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of expend
Probably expended a lot of energy winning the first series.
—
Pat Gallen, CBS News, 13 May 2026
In attacking Iran, the U.S. military may have expended more than half of its inventory of weapons considered key to defending against China’s missile capabilities, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
—Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Whether the lawsuit, filed for the city by the America First Policy Institute, is worth expending any of El Cajon’s time and resources on is far from clear.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
One of those blew up on its landing attempt while another was purposefully expended to get its payload to a higher orbital insertion.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for expend
Pat Gallen, CBS News, 13 May 2026
In attacking Iran, the U.S. military may have expended more than half of its inventory of weapons considered key to defending against China’s missile capabilities, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
—Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Whether the lawsuit, filed for the city by the America First Policy Institute, is worth expending any of El Cajon’s time and resources on is far from clear.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
One of those blew up on its landing attempt while another was purposefully expended to get its payload to a higher orbital insertion.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for expend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expend
Verb
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Robert had spent the last few years accruing credit card points—more on that below—in the hopes of planning a blowout honeymoon experience for the wanderlusting couple, who had previously traveled together to romantic destinations like Japan and the south of France.—
Kaitlin Menza,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 June 2026
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Grown-ups bring a ladder to climb into the enormous fruit, kids gather up their inflatable toys, someone makes a waterslide out of a piece of rind, and the whole community spends the day splashing in the juice and pulp (being careful to remove the seeds first).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
Verb
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According to the lawsuit, the child consumed the kofta at The Kebab Shop on Los Feliz Boulevard on or about April 1.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
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Goldman Sachs forecasts a 24-fold increase in token consumption by 2030, reaching 120 quadrillion tokens per month, as agentic AI systems replace single-prompt interactions with multi-step tasks that consume orders of magnitude more compute per query.—
Rakesh Kumar,
Fortune,
30 May 2026
Verb
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The row between crypto companies and banks came down to whether those offering stablecoin accounts should be able to pay interest on deposits like traditional bank accounts, with banking groups warning that the stability of the financial system could be undermined as people move their money.—
Billy Bambrough,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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To pay for her medical bills, the family had to sell most of their remaining cattle and goats, a bitter blow after years of drought had already decimated local herds.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
31 May 2026
Verb
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While discussions about quantum-resistant hard forks exist, the path of least resistance for an attacker would be to drain them immediately — making a swift theft the most plausible outcome unless controversial collective action is taken.—
Sandy Peng,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
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This tender fruit loves warm weather and can grow in the ground or containers, so long as the plants receive full sun and well-draining soil.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
28 May 2026
Verb
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According to author and designer Olga Naiman, our nervous systems are exhausted by the distractions of modern life.—
Kate Donovan,
Martha Stewart,
28 May 2026
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The Tigers’ four leading scorers after Slaughter either transferred or exhausted their eligibility, leaving Abbey Schreacke and Averi Kroenke as Harper’s other top returners.—
Killian Wright,
Kansas City Star,
28 May 2026
Verb
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There is no version of this where producers absorb tens of billions of dollars in new liability and don’t pass it on.—
Yaël Ossowski,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
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Place an open box in a discreet corner of the bathroom to absorb unwanted odors over several months.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Expend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expend. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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