as in to spend
to use up carelessly
warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed
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Recent Examples of misspend
Brown, who federal law enforcement alleges misspent COVID relief dollars on things including a lavish birthday party, is running against county activist Joi Mayo and former Council member Warren Turner.
—
Mary Ramsey
august 14, Charlotte Observer, 14 Aug. 2025
Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo’s pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won’t be misspent or mismanaged.
—Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2025
The sheriff's energy, time and resources here are misspent.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 29 May 2025
Every Floridian must be made aware of the blatant corruption and misspending public money in Tallahassee.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Mary Ramsey
august 14, Charlotte Observer, 14 Aug. 2025
Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo’s pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won’t be misspent or mismanaged.
—Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2025
The sheriff's energy, time and resources here are misspent.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 29 May 2025
Every Floridian must be made aware of the blatant corruption and misspending public money in Tallahassee.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspend
Verb
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Han says the funds raised through the Hong Kong listing will help the robotaxi firm continue to spend on R&D and deployment.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
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Carter tells Rolling Stone the band approached him about joining the upcoming lineup in late September and have spent the time since working through booking and logistics.—
Josh Crutchmer,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Britain ultimately lost not only because of Washington’s extraordinary tenacity in the war’s several mainland theaters, but also because the king’s men had to stage long sieges, wage desperate naval battles, and take mounting casualties on too many other fronts spread too far apart.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Department stores have been losing market share for decades, first to big-box discounters like Walmart and Target in the 1980’s and 90’s, and more recently to Amazon.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misspend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspend. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.
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