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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in wasting
to use up carelessly
spent all his energy on impractical schemes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spending
Grichuk played a lot of DH last season (48 games) while also spending time in right field (40 games), left field (19 games) and center field (2 games).
—
Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
An already dire picture of a woman taking money meant for San Diego’s most vulnerable and spending it on everything from plastic surgeries to personal vacations grew even darker this week when prosecutors gave a public update about their ongoing investigation.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
After spending most of a week sampling more ice cream than might be medically advisable, Elijah and I visited Gyokusuien, a tiny tea shop near the Ōdōri Bus Terminal that has been in the Tamaki family since 1933.
—Alex Halberstadt, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Feb. 2026
After spending more than a decade in prison overseas, the former boyfriend of Heather Mack is set to appear in a Chicago courtroom on Thursday on conspiracy charges stemming from the infamous 2014 murder of Mack’s mother at a Bali resort.
—Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
Elk Grove is spending up to $350,000 per bed to build a new homeless shelter — a decision that homeless activists said could be better spent on permanent housing.
—Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 25 Feb. 2026
After spending more than nine months in the neonatal intensive care unit at Virtua Voorhees Hospital, Myla was discharged and headed home with her mother.
—CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
While that doesn’t necessarily require spending $6,000 a year, infrastructure does require resources.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 25 Feb. 2026
The fiscal angst is most obvious in urban school districts, where enrollment declines are most severe and where unions are the strongest, often spending heavily to elect friendly school board members.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
An already dire picture of a woman taking money meant for San Diego’s most vulnerable and spending it on everything from plastic surgeries to personal vacations grew even darker this week when prosecutors gave a public update about their ongoing investigation.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
After spending most of a week sampling more ice cream than might be medically advisable, Elijah and I visited Gyokusuien, a tiny tea shop near the Ōdōri Bus Terminal that has been in the Tamaki family since 1933.
—Alex Halberstadt, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Feb. 2026
After spending more than a decade in prison overseas, the former boyfriend of Heather Mack is set to appear in a Chicago courtroom on Thursday on conspiracy charges stemming from the infamous 2014 murder of Mack’s mother at a Bali resort.
—Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
Elk Grove is spending up to $350,000 per bed to build a new homeless shelter — a decision that homeless activists said could be better spent on permanent housing.
—Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 25 Feb. 2026
After spending more than nine months in the neonatal intensive care unit at Virtua Voorhees Hospital, Myla was discharged and headed home with her mother.
—CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
While that doesn’t necessarily require spending $6,000 a year, infrastructure does require resources.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 25 Feb. 2026
The fiscal angst is most obvious in urban school districts, where enrollment declines are most severe and where unions are the strongest, often spending heavily to elect friendly school board members.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spending
Verb
-
Jonathan Russell, the county’s director of Housing and Homelessness Services department, said his office has started paying out about $93 million that the board has committed to homeless service providers through the next five years.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The emergency assistance program, run by The Salvation Army, helps residential customers who are behind on paying their Nicor Gas bill and experiencing financial hardship because of military deployment, job loss, illness, a disability or other issues.—
Melinda Moore,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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What this means for you Ultimately, this study suggests that consuming sugar substitutes over an extended period of time is associated with worse cognitive health.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
27 Feb. 2026
-
As of time of publication, the company said no illnesses or hospitalizations have been reported, but warned that consuming products that are not fully pasteurized can pose a significant health risk, especially for young children, pregnant people, older adults and people who are immunocompromised.—
GMA Team,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
How much was that, and not wasting their last opportunity together, on their minds?—
Tom Mulherin,
Boston Herald,
1 Mar. 2026
-
That means, for example, not wasting other members' time by asking questions that could be easily answered by doing a Google search, or scrolling up or searching through the previous posts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Occupational giving statistics more or less tracked with the postelection analysis of pundits.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Islamabad blames Pakistani Taliban militants for much of that violence – and accuses Kabul of giving them shelter on its territory.—
Sophia Saifi,
CNN Money,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In full sun or partial shade and well-draining soil, creeping thyme puts on a show, with small flowers covering the ground like a colorful carpet.—
Jamie McIntosh,
The Spruce,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Provide well-draining soils as root rot can develop in wet soil.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Two weeks later, Amalia started vomiting, then losing weight.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Mar. 2026
-
The Bobcats struggled to do both against the Mountaineers, going 9 of 15 from the charity stripe and losing the battle on the glass 42-28.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As these components segregate over generations, the gene drive becomes less functional, strategy that has been described as a means of developing self-exhausting gene drives that limit geographic distribution.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Feb. 2026
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The selling pressure appears to be exhausting itself, setting the stage for a classic snap-back rally.—
Nishant Pant,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Once stationary, turn off all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights are not illuminated, reducing the risk of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Mar. 2026
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That deal, which required Iran to limit its nuclear program by, among other things, cutting enrichment levels and reducing centrifuges, took effect in 2016 and was due to expire 10 years after it was adopted.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spending. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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