spend
[ spend ]
/ spɛnd /
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verb (used with object), spent, spend·ing.
verb (used without object), spent, spend·ing.
to spend money, energy, time, etc.
Obsolete. to be consumed or exhausted.
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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” (see expend); compare German spenden
synonym study for spend
1. 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 WORDS FROM spend
an·ti·spend·ing, adjectiveun·der·spend, verb, un·der·spent, un·der·spend·ing.un·spend·ing, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use spend in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for spend
spend
/ (spɛnd) /
verb spends, spending or spent
noun
an amount of money spent, esp regularly, or allocated to be spent
See also spends
Derived forms of spend
spendable, adjectiveWord Origin for spend
Old English spendan, from Latin expendere; influenced also by Old French despendre to spend, from Latin dispendere; see expend, dispense
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with spend
spend
see pocket (spending) money.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.