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

Both teams then got along just fine after practice with several players from each team spending time together. — Jon MacHota, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

That said, the Inn itself is so cocooning that many guests end up spending far more time on the property than originally planned. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Aug. 2026

The family enjoyed trips to Cape Cod and spending time together at their home in Duxbury, an affluent suburb located 20 miles outside Boston. — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 18 Aug. 2026

Little said holding the election amounted to spending taxpayer money to promote a candidate. — Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Over the past 20 years, even as Dauphin County cut its workforce by 19%, its health care spending more than doubled. — Bob Herman, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026

Existing customers purchased more frequently rather than spending more per order. — Ayşe Çetinel, Harvard Business Review, 18 Aug. 2026

First portion of practice ▪ Kyle Louis is working with the safeties for a second day in a row after spending the previous three weeks as a big nickel and linebacker. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 18 Aug. 2026

But that also means that a large number of folks who don't have so many assets might be better off spending their dollars on risk management and insurance. — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026