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
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
People point to the rising costs of wages and transfer fees as a reason to increase loss limits, but those continue to rise because teams continue to choose to spend their money in that way.
—
Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
Housenbold and Donaldson were introduced in 2024, and later that year spent a day together discussing how to expand MrBeast’s business into Australia.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2025
National chains are investing heavily in their private labels as spending from consumers on store brands hit a record-breaking $271 billion in 2024, outpacing the growth of national brands.
—Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
The user's Steam profile page lists 551 hours spent playing Valve's 2010 free-to-play overhead shooter Alien Swarm.
—Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spend
Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
Housenbold and Donaldson were introduced in 2024, and later that year spent a day together discussing how to expand MrBeast’s business into Australia.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2025
National chains are investing heavily in their private labels as spending from consumers on store brands hit a record-breaking $271 billion in 2024, outpacing the growth of national brands.
—Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
The user's Steam profile page lists 551 hours spent playing Valve's 2010 free-to-play overhead shooter Alien Swarm.
—Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spend
Verb
-
Past contestants have confirmed that pay increases as the season progresses.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Two seasons ago, Detroit opted to throw him to the wolves, and his reputation started to pay the price.—
The Athletic NHL,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Fans are already consuming an increasing number of clips captured on other viewers’ phones, offering unique angles of game-changing plays or gnarly injuries mixed with the fan reactions that make those moments so compelling.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
26 Sep. 2025
-
An Oktoberfest board includes a sausage, two soft pretzels, cheese sauce, German mustard, sauerkraut and radi, or German radish that is typically consumed with beer.—
Marcus Smith,
Sacbee.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
For almost 30 years, the Golden Watchdog and Fleece Awards have been a key fundraiser for the nonprofit — and a thorn in the side of public agencies on the receiving end of unwelcome attention for wasting government resources.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The unit is giving up over 30 points per game and has been wasting some of the best ball Prescott has played in a Cowboys uniform.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Winged munition autonomously detects moving targets Raytheon also highlighted that the StormBreaker smart weapon gives operators an upper hand in combat by hitting moving targets in some of the worst weather conditions.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Officials did not give any details on the man’s medical condition.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Gladys is actually an ailing witch who cast a spell in order to drain them of their life force and reinvigorate herself in the process.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
-
The announcement signals a significant push to further expand charter schools in South Florida, a move critics warn could drain resources from traditional public schools already grappling with declining enrollment.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Indonesian gymnastics has lost one of the nation's finest sons.—
Victoria Beaule,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
-
If a player is left in a room, they will be stuck there, losing a point each round, until another player returns to the room to release them.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Burnout shows up as feeling constantly exhausted, emotionally checked out from work, and struggling to get things done effectively.—
Aisha Ditta,
CNBC,
20 Sep. 2025
-
The doctor may be exhausted from lack of sleep, or distraught after having performed CPR on a baby for forty-five minutes.—
Rachel Pearson,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Michelle Gonzalez, the organization’s president and chief executive, noted that the system is not ready to absorb the care of so many additional residents without medical coverage.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Sep. 2025
-
This gives the dry ingredients time to absorb the wet ingredients, which will yield waffles with better structure.—
Robin Miller,
AZCentral.com,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spend. Accessed 27 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share