verb
adjective
-
used up or exhausted; consumed
-
(of a fish) exhausted by spawning
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spent
First recorded in 1425–75, for the adjective
Explanation
If you're spent, you are completely worn out or exhausted. Almost everyone feels completely spent after climbing a mountain or running a marathon. When you're spent, you've used up your reserves of energy, and when a physical item is spent, it's outlived its usefulness. Spent fuel, for example, has been burned and can no longer power a machine, and a rocket might power a space shuttle until it's spent and falls away. The adjective spent comes from the verb spend, "to pay out," which has the Latin root expendere, "to pay down."
Vocabulary lists containing spent
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.
Spent fuel is planned to be deposited in Onkalo's massive network of tunnels for 100 years but operations may be extended if new nuclear reactors are built.
From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026
In fact, that’s more views than any MrBeast video racked up last year, including the YouTube star’s most popular stunt: “I Spent 100 Hours Inside the Pyramids!”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026
In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with author Alison Bechdel about her new book, Spent.
From Slate • Jun. 26, 2025
The consumer critique of "Spent" is one that punches primarily sideways, highlighting how readily Alison betrays her own high ethical and political standards and how reflexively she uses an intellectual gloss to rationalize the betrayals.
From Salon • Jun. 23, 2025
Spent a day walking through art galleries and bought paintings to cover the empty spaces on our walls.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
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.
