Synonyms of spending

spending

verb

present participle of spend

1

as in paying

to hand over or use up in payment

I always end up spending too much money at the mall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• paying
• giving
• expending
• disbursing
• wasting
• laying out
• outlaying
• dropping
• shelling out
• forking (over, out, or up)
• lavishing
• raining
• squandering
• dissipating
• blowing
• running through
• throwing away
• frittering (away)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• saving
• making
• earning
• hoarding
• acquiring
• securing
• realizing
• procuring
• winning
• gaining
• laying up
• caching
• garnering

2

as in consuming

to make complete use of

the town has already spent its budget for snow removal, and it's only January

Synonyms & Similar Words

• consuming
• draining
• exhausting
• reducing
• absorbing
• burning
• eating
• using
• depleting
• expending
• wasting
• devouring
• decreasing
• emptying
• playing out
• drawing down
• running out of
• using up
• lowering
• diminishing
• weakening
• downsizing
• dwindling
• undermining
• bankrupting
• crippling
• impoverishing
• lessening
• sapping
• cleaning (out)
• blowing
• squandering
• debilitating
• misspending
• disabling
• abating
• lavishing
• enfeebling
• guzzling
• drying up
• dissipating
• de-escalating
• throwing away
• running through
• frittering (away)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• increasing
• replacing
• renewing
• enforcing
• enlarging
• reinforcing
• strengthening
• augmenting
• repairing
• restoring
• rebuilding
• saving
• preserving
• reviving
• conserving
• bolstering
• fortifying

3

as in wasting

to use up carelessly

spent all his energy on impractical schemes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wasting
• losing
• squandering
• lavishing
• blowing
• misspending
• consuming
• dissipating
• running through
• throwing away
• trifling (away)
• overspending
• frittering (away)
• splurging
• indulging
• fiddling away
• playing ducks and drakes with
• depleting
• exhausting
• expending
• impoverishing
• disbursing
• shooting
• overindulging
• laying out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• conserving
• protecting
• saving
• economizing
• preserving
• skimping
• scrimping
• hoarding
• laying up

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of spending

Nowhere, however, is spending on corruption ads greater—or the volume louder—than in the Texas Senate race, between the state attorney general, Ken Paxton, and the state representative James Talarico. — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026

Still, they’re specifically limited to spending on education. — Adriana Morga, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026

Discovering better batteries and materials What if researchers could simulate a material’s properties before spending years developing and testing it in a laboratory? — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026

Meanwhile, users are spending more time scrolling on Instagram, giving Meta more advertising opportunities. — Ari Levy, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026

The left-hander spent 12 of his 19 seasons in Queens before spending time with the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies. — Ryan Morik Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Nov. 2026

But for our customers, spending time in a boring appliance of a car might be the real madness. — New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2026

Both parties are spending on campaigns in Republican area that normally would not be competitive. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026

The district was previously spending around $500,000 per year to rent space for employees who didn’t fit on its Garden City campus. — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 24 Oct. 2026