spent

[spent]

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of spend.

adjective

1. tired; worn-out; exhausted.

   Synonyms: fatigued, weary

2. used up; consumed.

spent

/ spɛnt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of spend

adjective

1. used up or exhausted; consumed

2. (of a fish) exhausted by spawning

Other Word Forms

• well-spent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spent¹

First recorded in 1425–75, for the adjective

Example Sentences

Many international visitors have to apply for tourist visas, including Felix Donaldson, a 29-year-old academic researcher from the U.K., who spent a recent evening in Chongqing on a nighttime river cruise.

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She worries about the years her children have spent out of school, and that they have been learning war terminology.

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He had previously spent months in Germany recovering from what German doctors said was poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent, Novichok.

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A fluent English speaker, Liu joined China’s Communist Party and the Foreign Ministry in the 1980s, when he also spent time studying international relations at Oxford University.

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Much of the revenue generated by Haitian labor was then spent buying goods from the U.S., including some $260 million in rice from Louisiana and nearly $500 million in fuel in 2024.

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Related Words

• dead 
• finished 
• lost 
• used 
• wasted