spend

American  

[spend] / spɛnd /

verb (used with object)

spent, spending

1. to pay out, disburse, or expend; dispose of (money, wealth, resources, etc.).

   resisting the temptation to spend one's money.

   Antonyms:

   keep, earn

2. to employ (labor, thought, words, time, etc.), as on some object or in some proceeding.

   Don't spend much time on it.

   Synonyms:

   devote, apply, use

3. to pass (time) in a particular manner, place, etc..

   We spent a few days in Baltimore.

4. to use up, consume, or exhaust.

   The storm had spent its fury.

5. to give (one's blood, life, etc.) for some cause.

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verb (used without object)

spent, spending

1. to spend money, energy, time, etc.

2. Obsolete. to be consumed or exhausted.

spend British  

/ spɛnd /

verb

1. to pay out (money, wealth, etc)

2. (tr) to concentrate (time, effort, thought, etc) upon an object, activity, etc

3. (tr) to pass (time) in a specific way, activity, place, etc

4. (tr) to use up completely

   the hurricane spent its force

5. (tr) to give up (one's blood, life, etc) in a cause

6. obsolete (intr) to be used up or exhausted

7. informal to urinate

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noun

1. an amount of money spent, esp regularly, or allocated to be spent

spend Idioms  

1. see pocket (spending) money.

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Related Words

Spend, disburse, expend, squander refer to paying out money. Spend is the general word: We spend more for living expenses now. Disburse implies expending from a specific source or sum to meet specific obligations, or paying in definite allotments: The treasurer has authority to disburse funds. Expend is more formal, and implies spending for some definite and (usually) sensible or worthy object: to expend most of one's salary on necessities. Squander suggests lavish, wasteful, or foolish expenditure: to squander a legacy.

Other Word Forms

• antispending adjective
• spendable adjective
• underspend verb
• unspending adjective

Etymology

Origin of spend

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English spenden, continuing Old English -spendan (in āspendan, forspendan “to spend entirely or utterly”), from West Germanic, from Latin expendere “to pay out, spend, expend” ( expend ); compare German spenden

Example Sentences

Complicating the challenges are demographic trends, with a shrinking and ageing population weakening the outlook for a future spending boom.

From Barron's

"We obviously spend a lot of time on our projects," he said.

From Barron's

She's also spent £66 on train tickets and is expecting to spend about £200 for two nights' accommodation.

From BBC

Kainerugaba's friend says the general is "a kind, generous, intensely smart person who spends all his time thinking about the peace and security of this country".

From BBC

"Quick commerce has tapped into a huge pool of time-poor urban residents who spend long hours commuting and would rather order in essentials than step out again," he says.

From BBC

Related Words

• allocate
• concentrate
• consume
• contribute
• donate
• drop
• employ
• expend
• give
• invest
• put in
• settle
• use
• waste