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 Isaac Bayas, Marco Budzrak, Emiliano Lopez, Belal Moutaouakkil and Eli Kulspinski spent their senior year raising more than $25,000 to help people in Amachuma, Bolivia, and to learn about the culture. — Melinda Moore, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026 Michael was born with Down syndrome and spent the first six months of his life at Seattle Children's Hospital. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026 Then 25 became 10 became three, and a long night spent visiting with Blattner sealed it. — Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026 The Sun hire Hall of Fame coach Anne Donovan, who spent three seasons with the team before resigning in 2015. — Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, 24 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spend

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spend

Verb

That was in part to force the fathers to pay child maintenance, thus saving taxpayers’ money, but also supposedly to save the souls of both parents.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
From there, the five networks distribute footage to their local station affiliates and paying subscribers, including The Washington Post, which is a digital subscriber.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of pay

Verb

The chips are power-hungry (a ChatGPT AI query consumes about ten times as much energy as a normal Google search) and also generate a lot of heat, which requires cooling systems.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 27 Sep. 2026
Maneuvering consumes energy, and atmospheric flight produces substantial heating and drag.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of consume

Verb

New Zealand then spent 10 minutes in England's half and appeared to waste it until Du Plessis chased a clearance back to halfway, turned and kicked into empty space and beat everyone to the ball in goal.

— ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
This is a crucial insight to have before wasting time and money.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of waste

Verb

That behavior gives engineers a way to control how a material stores and releases electrical energy.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2026
Most of those steps have been blocked by various courts, in part because the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to set election rules, but provides no such power to the president.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of give

Verb

Excessive Wet Plants that are receiving excessive moisture or are not draining properly can also exhibit signs of decline, the plant expert offers.

— Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 27 Sep. 2026
Use fast-draining potting mix so the roots are not exposed to soggy soil for long periods of time.

— Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of drain

Verb

Success loses some of its shine when your private world is absorbing all the strain.

— Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 25 Sep. 2026
Apple had introduced the iPhone just two months earlier, and Brown concluded that his company had no future in smartphones, which were losing hundreds of millions of dollars a quarter.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of lose

Verb

But seven months into the conflict, with no clear end in sight, the global oil market has now largely exhausted the safety measures that exist to keep a lid on petroleum prices.

— Greg Pollock, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2026
The gentle squeeze around your legs provides other surprising health benefits on exhausting travel days.

— Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of exhaust

Verb

Shoppers filed a class action against the company in May, and its finance chief has said Amazon largely absorbed tariff costs rather than passing them on.

— Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
The joint, which makes AI tools developed by and intended for filmmakers from essentially open source beginnings, saw its staff of less than 20 absorbed into the streamer and Affleck on board as an advisor.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of absorb

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spences

spend

spender

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Style

“Spend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spend. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of spend

verb

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