SPEND Synonyms: 98 Similar and Opposite Words

spend

verb

ˈspend

Definition of spend

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

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

as in to waste

to use up carelessly spent all his energy on impractical schemes

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 spend Aaron Donald is still laughing about his botched chance to score against the Chargers, and spent Thursday scooping up fumbles. — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026 Candidates in at least 21 races spent almost $90 million on political ads calling for some form of slowdown or ban on data center construction—a position in line with nearly three-quarters of Americans. — Larry Downes, Harvard Business Review, 5 Nov. 2026 Top-line numbers such as gross domestic product, consumer spending and the unemployment rate tell the story of an economy growing briskly while consumers spend and most Americans who want jobs are at work. — Jeff Cox, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026 Rick Jackson had already spent more than $100 million of his own fortune to win the Republican nomination for governor. — Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 5 Nov. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spend

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spend

Verb

The House can move the bill forward without requiring cuts elsewhere to pay for it.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Nov. 2026
The lawsuit alleged that the facility violated the state's minimum wage and forced labor laws by paying detainees $1 a day to work at the facility, sometimes under threat of solitary confinement.

— Christa Swanson, CBS News, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of pay

Verb

When soil or other outside material sinks to the bottom of a lake, microbes consume oxygen to break it down, leading to the production of methane, a potent planet-heating gas.

— Connie Hanzhang Jin, NPR, 8 Nov. 2026
About 44% of GLP-1 users report consuming more functional beverages, according to EY-Parthenon's third annual survey of more than 3,600 current or former GLP-1 users.

— Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of consume

Verb

Joji Waites, director of flight safety, policy and regulation at the British Air Line Pilots Association, said airline assessors grade a threat as red, amber or green, but that an amber verdict would never be given if the plane is airborne.

— Jenni Reid, CNBC, 7 Nov. 2026
Wiles gave Trump her resignation Thursday night, a person familiar with the events told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of give

Verb

The brain wound was cleaned and drained before surgeons patched up his skull.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026
Crews started excavating the site Wednesday, once utility workers had drained water and cleared other hazards, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.

— Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of drain

Verb

Days after losing the governor’s race by a wide margin, Republican Steve Hilton argued Thursday his campaign should serve as a template for future GOP tickets and hinted at a potential second run for governor.

— Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 6 Nov. 2026
There is no tension between expectation and reality, no concrete regret or achievement, no shift in perspective, nothing gained or lost.

— Vrinda Jagota, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of lose

Verb

This heats the air dramatically, expanding it and exhausting the hot gas at a much higher velocity than normal.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026
That message resonated with Israelis exhausted by years of war, among them Hila Asayag, 49, whose son has served in Gaza and Lebanon.

— Lior Soroka, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2026

Definition of exhaust

Verb

Jesús de Miguel died Tuesday, a day after absorbing a heavy hit by the opposing team’s goalkeeper during a match in Spain’s second division and being rushed to a hospital.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2026
Fresco painting involves laying dry powdered pigment onto the wet plaster so that the pigment is absorbed into the plaster and becomes one with it.

— Artforum, Artforum, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of absorb

Browse Nearby Words

spences

spend

spender

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“Spend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spend. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of spend

verb

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