as in to spend
to use up carelessly
warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of misspend
There are literally a million better ways to stop food waste than partnering with a family that has been convicted of felonies for misspending nonprofit money.
—
Emily Barnes, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Emily Barnes, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspend
Verb
-
Joabe Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Omar Yousaf spent the day riding the entire MARTA rail system in an attempt to complete the full route in roughly three hours.—
Kaley Fedko,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Visitors can spend their entire trip switching off between the two, but be sure to take some time to explore the rocky cove beaches called calas that have made Costa Blanca famous.—
Liz Provencher,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Indiana has lost more than 700 games in its history and now is one game away from a national title.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
-
To our minds, Wednesday's horror, those kids who lost a mother, should supplant the inevitable circling of the ideological wagons and the parsing of the different angles of pictures taken at the scene.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misspend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspend. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share