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.
Jourdane spent his life championing the causes he believed in, such as safe conditions for workers, voting rights and standing up for the oppressed, his family said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Vardy, who won 26 caps for England, scoring seven goals, spent 13 years at Leicester after signing from non-league Fleetwood Town in 2012.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
The visit comes just over a week after Central Intelligence Agency chief John Ratcliffe spent several hours in Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
When you join, you hatch a pet bird, and as you complete real-life tasks, your Finch is rewarded with rainbow coins that can be spent on outfits and furniture.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
The goats spent a great deal of time with their back hair up, whuffing and blowing snot at the bears—and at the dogs who would gladly have eaten them.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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.
