as in spendthrift
someone who spends money freely or foolishly
he's a spender and she's a tightwad, so naturally they quarrel about money a lot
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Recent Examples of spender
These sold their products, procured supplies and luxury goods, and wrote mortgages on their plantations and slaves when spenders like Thomas Jefferson lived beyond their means.
—
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Feb. 2026
Only a small slice of users are both top consumers and top spenders—so scale alone won’t save you.
—Martin Moszkowicz, Deadline, 14 Feb. 2026
Red Sea resorts in Saudi Arabia can cost thousands of dollars a night, Oman has built remote glamping mountain lodges, and the UAE is expanding its glitzy offering, all chasing the world’s highest spenders.
—Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 10 Feb. 2026
But not all childless people are spenders.
—Medora Lee, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
The company now guides 2026 capital expenditures, including finance leases, of roughly $115–$135 billion, placing it among the largest single-year capex spenders in the AI and hyperscaler universe.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
As part of the partnership, Corning is expanding its operations to meet demand not only from Meta, but also potential future orders from other big AI spenders like OpenAI, along with Club names Nvidia , Alphabet ’s Google, Microsoft , and Amazon .
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2026
Thousands of players entered the portal this cycle and the sport’s biggest opportunists (and spenders) were active early.
—Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
The buildup makes Japan one of the world’s top defense spenders as tensions with Beijing escalate over military activity near Japanese islands.
—Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Feb. 2026
Only a small slice of users are both top consumers and top spenders—so scale alone won’t save you.
—Martin Moszkowicz, Deadline, 14 Feb. 2026
Red Sea resorts in Saudi Arabia can cost thousands of dollars a night, Oman has built remote glamping mountain lodges, and the UAE is expanding its glitzy offering, all chasing the world’s highest spenders.
—Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 10 Feb. 2026
But not all childless people are spenders.
—Medora Lee, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
The company now guides 2026 capital expenditures, including finance leases, of roughly $115–$135 billion, placing it among the largest single-year capex spenders in the AI and hyperscaler universe.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
As part of the partnership, Corning is expanding its operations to meet demand not only from Meta, but also potential future orders from other big AI spenders like OpenAI, along with Club names Nvidia , Alphabet ’s Google, Microsoft , and Amazon .
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2026
Thousands of players entered the portal this cycle and the sport’s biggest opportunists (and spenders) were active early.
—Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
The buildup makes Japan one of the world’s top defense spenders as tensions with Beijing escalate over military activity near Japanese islands.
—Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spender
Noun
-
The split screen of Bezos and his spendthrift wife, Lauren Sánchez, frolicking everywhere — including Paris Fashion Week — while the tech mogul defiles the crown jewel nurtured by Ben Bradlee and Kay Graham is sickening.—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
3 Feb. 2026
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That is all the more reason the state must get a better handle on its spendthrift ways.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Start with your biggest time waster and build from there.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
For example, default settings for focus time added blocking of sites in the categories Shopping, Tabloids, and Time wasters.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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He was raised on Chicago’s North Side by a wastrel father and a mother who struggled to put food on their table.—
Ron Grossman,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Aug. 2025
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Ridley, traumatized by the cancer death of her mother and considered mostly a wastrel by those around her for pursuing a degree in the dread-inducing major of art history, knows a thing or two about the mythology behind these kindly rainbow-spewing creatures.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Twenty-six James Bond films (the 25 Eon joints, plus the prodigal Never Say Never Again) are coming to Netflix this month.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
2 Jan. 2026
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Secrets are revealed, prodigals return, intolerances surface and family bonds are tested.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spender. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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