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

The BofA analysis found big growth in per-person video-game spending across age groups in the 12 months to August, with even Gen Z, the generation with the smallest increase, spending 20% more. — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 27 Sep. 2026

Sure, like in the Ohio Senate race, just on the reservations for media that are on the books now, Republicans are spending a hundred plus million dollars, Sherrod Brown spending $55 million. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026

The Dodgers enter October seeking a third straight World Series title, but the club has not settled on a closer despite spending heavily on Edwin Díaz and Tanner Scott. — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026

The cavalry has arrived for Ken Paxton in Texas as Republicans execute a large and astonishingly fast ramp-up in spending to fend off his Democratic challenger for Senate. — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 27 Sep. 2026

However, spending a small fraction of that amount on technology designed to better understand the risk before making that decision can still be a difficult sell. — George Achilleos, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Other parents have told me their children’s bus ride times have doubled and many are spending more than an hour each way on the bus. — Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026

The child was born four months premature but was making progress after spending months in the ICU and was expected to go home in April, WOOD-TV reported. — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026

BigLaw firms are spending to hire top-name engineers and transforming themselves into tech companies behind the scenes. — Logan Brown, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026