spendthrift
Americannoun
-
spendthrifts
plural
adjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of spendthrift
Explanation
A spendthrift person is reckless and wasteful with his money. If you're a spendthrift, you might find yourself in debt. However, it might be fun to have a spendthrift friend who likes to treat you to expensive lunches and lavish gifts. Spendthrift was created by sticking two opposite words together: spend and thrift, which means “savings, wealth.” So a spendthrift spends all of his savings. Spendthrift people are the worst nightmare of retirement planners and Scrooges all over the globe. So unless you want to be called a spendthrift, think twice about your next purchase.
Vocabulary lists containing spendthrift
The Catcher in the Rye
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
A Doll's House
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Intermediate, List 9
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Yardeni Research President Ed Yardeni said Thursday that the results offer the “latest evidence that consumers have continued their spendthrift ways.”
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
A spendthrift trust “prevents your child from selling, borrowing against, or misusing their inheritance,” Cote says.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 2026
No one today any longer wishes to hear jokes about nagging mothers-in-law, spendthrift wives or old jalopies, and the men and women who once told them to hardy plaudits are now forgotten.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Chantel Chapman, a 40-year-old entrepreneur in Richmond, British Columbia, was once a spendthrift in this way.
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2023
At the same time he was more of a carouser and spendthrift than ever.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I will uphold his wishes, but if I outlive him and there’s no agreement in place, I would likely give little to nothing to his children because they are irresponsible spendthrifts.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026
Here’s what typically happens to spendthrifts who clear their debt.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2023
How can I persuade my parents not to be spendthrifts on our dime?
From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2021
The reason massive stars are such spendthrifts is that, as we saw above, the rate of fusion depends very strongly on the star’s core temperature.
From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016
He well knew what a prize Polly Fagan was deemed amongst the class of broken-down and needy spendthrifts who came to him for aid.
From Sir Jasper Carew His Life and Experience by Charles James Lever
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.
