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.
The stewards of Major League Baseball have spent all year trying to convince fans that a World Series like this one was all but impossible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
To understand their activity habits, participants completed questionnaires estimating how many hours each week they spent being physically active.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Newcastle spent about £250m on players during the summer transfer window, with many of the new signings aged 21 or under.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
“Childhood Marissa spent recesses in the library buried in books about ancient Egypt,” Roy said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
He’d spent months gathering different varieties—every shape and color—then fenced off the area with sticks and draped the posts in moss.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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