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
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expendernoun
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overexpendverb
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preexpendverb (used with object)
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unexpendedadjective
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well-expendedadjective
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.
See Examples For:
“But we don’t want them to expend that energy while they’re waiting for it to be dark.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Using birds as a model, the scientists provided the first direct evidence that experiences during development can change how much energy animals expend when moving as adults.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
The deficits have been exacerbated by the war in the Middle East, which saw US allies expend huge quantities of air defence ammunition protecting sites in the Gulf.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
The police don’t expend much energy on the case, but the victim’s family, having journeyed from the Philippines, thanks Jing-nan for reporting his death.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Unlike Pita, who was still playing with the rake, Juanita, the twins, and I had no desire to expend any more energy than we already had.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
This spiritual sequel to “Frankenstein” is a romantic tale of obsession, possession and fantasy — adjectives that also apply to its filmmaker, Maggie Gyllenhaal, who expends massive quantities of energy jolting it to life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
A worm expends a vast amount of energy to jump and faces risks of predation or drying out while suspended in the air.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2025
These refer to one-sided relationships where one party expends an overt amount of time, emotional energy and money on another whom they are fascinated with, but who may not know they exist.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2024
A smart water heater monitors usage and expends energy more efficiently, and you can control and check them from your phone.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
Every lord mayor, however, expends more than this sum during his year of office in grand banquets.
From Collins' Illustrated Guide to London and Neighbourhood by Anonymous
In the first nine months of this year, the company collected a total of $13.1 billion in cash but expended $40 billion in capital on AI, among $48.1 billion in total capital spending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
The U.S. military’s own weapons stockpiles, including crucial drone and missile interceptors, were expended in the first period of the war.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
In truth, despite the considerable effort expended by law enforcement, the investigation went cold nearly as soon as it began.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
The results were largely underwhelming even as billions of dollars were expended.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
They congratulated him on being able to account for every penny of the money earned through sales and expended for their needs.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
Birds that grew up carrying the weights could walk with the added load without expending additional energy.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
One is industrial capacity, already strained by the Ukraine conflict and the need for the U.S. and its partners to rebuild stocks after expending large amounts of munitions in the war with Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
A behind-the-scenes teaser trailer boasts of expending 25 tons of propane to create a realistic approximation of dragon fire and setting a new world record for setting stunt performers on fire in a single take.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
Investors are largely wasting their time when expending significant time and resources to find stocks they think will outperform the market — unless they hold these stocks for many years.
From MarketWatch ● May 30, 2026
I am very aware that I should not be driving, and yet I seem to be doing this without expending any thought or energy.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
