verb
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to spend; disburse
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to consume or use up
Synonym Usage
See spend.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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expendsimple
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expendssimple
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have expendedperfect
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has expendedperfect
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am expendingprogressive
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are expendingprogressive
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is expendingprogressive
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have been expendingperfect progressive
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has been expendingperfect progressive
Past
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expendedsimple
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had expendedperfect
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was expendingprogressive
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were expendingprogressive
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had been expendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of expend
1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin expendere “to weigh out, lay out, pay”
Explanation
The verb expend means to use. If you expend all your energy raking the leaves, you may be too tired to play hockey afterwards. Better pace yourself — you'll never get all of the leaves on the ground, after all. The verb expend means to spend or pay out. You can expend money, but you can also expend things like good will and time. As a voter, you can vote for or against the city's plan to expend money on a new library building, but the city may be expending voter willingness to support the plan if the building goes over the budget. There is no point in building a library if they can't afford to buy books!
Vocabulary lists containing expend
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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pend, pens, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The end goal: Expend the smallest amount of carbon.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 19, 2019
Play: Expend all that coffee-bean induced energy at Jefferson Park.
From Seattle Times • May 12, 2018
Expend what you have received, and return and take whatever you ask for.
From Diary of a Pedestrian in Cashmere and Thibet by Knight, William Henry
Expend any affection you have upon your son, and forget me as soon as ever you can.
From April's Lady A Novel by Hungerford, Margaret Wolfe
Small imp of blackness, off at once, Expend thy mirth as likes thee best: Thy toil is over for the nonce; Yes, “opus operatum est.”
From London Lyrics by Cruikshank, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
