1
as in pays
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 consumes
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 loses
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 spends
The Cowboys have mastered the art of entertaining and interesting better than any sports franchise in the world, but there is a redundancy that to the person who spends a lot of their money on it is justifiably checked out.
—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Jan. 2026
Browns Cleveland boasts an elite defense led by the league’s best pass rusher, an owner who spends more cash than any other team and a promising nucleus from the 2025 draft class.
—Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Ben Evans spends $400 a week to live in an extended stay hotel in DeKalb County.
—Kaley Fedko, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
Daly's parents live in rural Illinois and her mom spends a lot of time online shopping.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
In a new piece in this week’s issue, Antonia Hitchens spends time with Loomer and those around her.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
Know someone who spends a ton of time on their feet—a teacher or a nurse, perhaps?
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 11 Nov. 2025
Garfield, meanwhile, is a Congressman who represents Ohio, but spends most of his time back home.
—David Bianculli, NPR, 10 Nov. 2025
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Jan. 2026
Browns Cleveland boasts an elite defense led by the league’s best pass rusher, an owner who spends more cash than any other team and a promising nucleus from the 2025 draft class.
—Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Ben Evans spends $400 a week to live in an extended stay hotel in DeKalb County.
—Kaley Fedko, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
Daly's parents live in rural Illinois and her mom spends a lot of time online shopping.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
In a new piece in this week’s issue, Antonia Hitchens spends time with Loomer and those around her.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
Know someone who spends a ton of time on their feet—a teacher or a nurse, perhaps?
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 11 Nov. 2025
Garfield, meanwhile, is a Congressman who represents Ohio, but spends most of his time back home.
—David Bianculli, NPR, 10 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spends
Verb
-
That is why the top area of the volcano is restricted, though not everyone pays heed.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Meta pays the full costs for the energy used by its data centers so that consumers do not bear these expenses, and the company supports the broader grid through these energy agreements.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Demand for memory chips has also been surging as the AI data center buildout consumes much of the high-bandwidth memory on the market.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
An average American man consumes about 100 grams of protein per day.—
Bay Area News Group,
Mercury News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The deeper the water, the sooner a vehicle loses traction on the road.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
-
However, each conversion step consumes energy, introduces delay, and loses some of the information carried by the original signal.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
That gives the car a one-to-one power-to-weight ratio, a figure usually reserved for modern hypercars.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Using music for change, a pair of winners gives children a voice through songwriting.—
Sharon Chin,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The denial exhausts the city’s legal options for the 2022 ballot measure, known as Measure C.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Ella has shades of Holly Hunter's intense, workaholic producer Jane from Brooks' 1987 masterpiece Broadcast News, the smartest person in any room who both exhausts and enchants everyone around her.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Time,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Leaving grow lights on around the clock stresses your plants and wastes energy.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Proposition 50 mocks California voters and wastes hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in the process.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Source clarity can save time and reduce the back-and-forth that drains energy during tight deadlines.—
Malana VanTyler,
Ascend Agency,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Make sure to soak the plant thoroughly so the water drains from the bottom of the pot.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Unlike glossy black, this effect absorbs light in a subtle way, creating a richer, more modern visual texture.—
Andrea Carbajal,
Glamour,
9 Jan. 2026
-
And although lightweight, the shoe doesn’t compromise on support — it’s designed with a memory foam sole that absorbs impact and provides an extra layer of padding.—
Nicol Natale,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spends. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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