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
Roughly 20% to 30% of operating expenses will come from spending on agents versus humans in the next three to four years, according to a new report summarizing the views of C-suite leaders from consultancy Bain & Company.
—
Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 10 June 2026
Cardholders also earn 2,500 bonus miles when spending $10,000 each calendar year.
—Andreina Rodriguez, CNBC, 10 June 2026
Travelers are now flying across the world, spending thousands of dollars and submitting to diagnostic tests in pursuit of something bigger than relaxation.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2026
In a state already plagued by oversight failures involving Medicaid, hospice care, in-home supportive services, and homelessness spending itself, the revelations were troubling, though hardly surprising.
—Michele Steeb, Oc Register, 10 June 2026
Jessica Dodell-Feder, writing for Yahoo, notes that while there’s nothing wrong with a $10 candle, creating a whole-home luxury fragrance usually calls for spending a bit more.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026
The Collin County Sheriff's Office said Anthony was transferred to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility on Wednesday, after spending one night in the Collin County Jail.
—S.e. Jenkins, CBS News, 10 June 2026
Travelers are still visiting the Salar de Uyuni, exploring Sucre's colonial center, spending time on Lake Titicaca, and exploring the Amazon.
—Bailey Berg, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 June 2026
Any assaulter of mine spending less time on the field is A-OK, though.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 3 June 2026
Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 10 June 2026
Cardholders also earn 2,500 bonus miles when spending $10,000 each calendar year.
—Andreina Rodriguez, CNBC, 10 June 2026
Travelers are now flying across the world, spending thousands of dollars and submitting to diagnostic tests in pursuit of something bigger than relaxation.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2026
In a state already plagued by oversight failures involving Medicaid, hospice care, in-home supportive services, and homelessness spending itself, the revelations were troubling, though hardly surprising.
—Michele Steeb, Oc Register, 10 June 2026
Jessica Dodell-Feder, writing for Yahoo, notes that while there’s nothing wrong with a $10 candle, creating a whole-home luxury fragrance usually calls for spending a bit more.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026
The Collin County Sheriff's Office said Anthony was transferred to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility on Wednesday, after spending one night in the Collin County Jail.
—S.e. Jenkins, CBS News, 10 June 2026
Travelers are still visiting the Salar de Uyuni, exploring Sucre's colonial center, spending time on Lake Titicaca, and exploring the Amazon.
—Bailey Berg, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 June 2026
Any assaulter of mine spending less time on the field is A-OK, though.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 3 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spending
Verb
-
The nonprofit didn’t report paying any compensation to a staff or board, which includes two former Newsom aides, Steve Kawa and Jim DeBoo, as well as Sacramento Kings COO Matina Kolokotronis.—
Haley Parsley,
Sacbee.com,
16 June 2026
-
Siobhan and Rekha collaborate to sort Oreos, but Grant spends this entire episode unwisely rushing into things and paying for it, mostly in humiliation.—
Tasha Robinson,
Vulture,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Because consuming too much sodium can be dangerous.—
Chelsea Rae Bourgeois,
Health,
7 July 2025
-
Don, Gail and Heather were taken to the hospital and died within days after consuming the Beef Wellington served by Erin, which had been laced with the deadly mushroom at her Leongatha house in July 2023, PEOPLE previously reported.—
Becca Longmire,
People.com,
7 July 2025
Verb
-
Without their captain Alphonso Davies, who is nursing a hamstring injury, and with Jonathan David wasting a fine chance to score in the first half, Canada were up against it.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
12 June 2026
-
The 2024 Current Obesity Reports review independently found no consistent signal of greater muscle wasting in people who cycled versus those who stayed at a stable higher weight.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Local groups Sin Tope and Making Movies performed on the festival’s main stage, giving fans a chance to decompress and have some fun, rather than stressing about their favorite team.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
12 June 2026
-
Towards the end of Thursday night’s episode, voice-over narrator Iain Stirling revealed that because the app crashed, the recoupling was moved to Friday night, hopefully giving the first Aftersun episode plenty to discuss.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Other actions to reduce risk include avoiding exposure during peak feeding times at dusk and dawn, wearing long sleeves and pants to prevent mosquito bites, and draining standing water in yards and gardens to minimize breeding areas.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
-
Water also was standing or draining so slowly as to seem to be standing at a prep sink and the mop sink.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
The reigning Super Bowl champions still hold a two-game advantage in the NFC East standings and will look to stop their losing skid in Week 14.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Dec. 2025
-
Ertz has 50 catches for 504 yards and four touchdowns this season — all of which rank second on the team, which is 3-10 after losing eight games in a row.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The Spurs seemed emotionally spent after exhausting all of their energy in unseating the defending champions.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
-
Trapped by high interest rates and the cumulative weight of inflation, the bottom 80 percent of earners are aggressively pulling back on discretionary goods, exhausting credit options and downgrading to private-label and discount brands.—
Arthur Zaczkiewicz,
Footwear News,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
While it is known that close contact with others can increase the transmission of certain viruses, the study highlights in greater detail how improving classroom ventilation could have notable impacts in reducing transmission.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Dec. 2025
-
Eventually, this mine’s successful operation will substantially increase China’s domestic supply capacity, simultaneously reducing its reliance on imports from other countries.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spending. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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