1
as in to pay
to hand over or use up in payment
I always end up spending too much money at the mall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to consume
to make complete use of
the town has already spent its budget for snow removal, and it's only January
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to waste
to use up carelessly
spent all his energy on impractical schemes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spend
Brogdon spent one season with the Wizards, appearing in only 24 games, but was said to have had a positive influence on the team’s young roster because of his professionalism.
—
Josh Robbins, New York Times, 31 May 2026
Super Bowl champion Joe Theismann, who spent his entire career with the then-Washington Redskins, is excited for the Commanders this season despite an underwhelming season last year.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
That’s particularly true for women, many of whom had to spend decades fighting for professional opportunities and institutional respect in Hollywood before finally reaching positions of genuine authority.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 31 May 2026
Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour podcast, has spent the last several years trying to answer that question.
—NPR, 31 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for spend
Josh Robbins, New York Times, 31 May 2026
Super Bowl champion Joe Theismann, who spent his entire career with the then-Washington Redskins, is excited for the Commanders this season despite an underwhelming season last year.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
That’s particularly true for women, many of whom had to spend decades fighting for professional opportunities and institutional respect in Hollywood before finally reaching positions of genuine authority.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 31 May 2026
Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour podcast, has spent the last several years trying to answer that question.
—NPR, 31 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for spend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spend
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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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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After spending most of Friday night wasting scoring opportunities, Adrian Lopez and his USC teammates headed into the ninth inning with plenty of confidence.—
Jose de Jesus Ortiz,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
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Gray held down the fort while the Red Sox lineup continued a season-long trend of wasting opportunities.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
Verb
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The Washington Nationals used Richard Lovelady, who blew Monday’s series opener, as an opener, followed by veteran Miles Mikolas for a bulk appearance, their most promising combination given their roster construction and arms available.—
Danielle Allentuck,
Washington Post,
3 June 2026
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Further, current macroeconomic risks would call for more hedging, given that consumer sentiment may be pressured in the coming months by persistently higher oil prices, while decline in the savings rate could signal another sign of fragility, Murphy said.—
Justina Lee,
CNBC,
3 June 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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The past few seasons have all been about Amanda wanting to open up and find her own voice, but here her voice is once again getting lost in the roar of someone else.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
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Phelan also suggested that there is a faction of Republicans who would not vote for Paxton under any circumstances, and warned that under those conditions, Republicans could lose their edge in the state's legislature and judiciary.—
Mateo Rosiles,
USA Today,
3 June 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
“Spend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spend. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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