verb
adjective
-
used up or exhausted; consumed
-
(of a fish) exhausted by spawning
Other Word Forms
- well-spent adjective
Etymology
Origin of spent
First recorded in 1425–75, for the adjective
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.
Given his first racquet aged four, Alcaraz spent much of his time there.
From BBC
He took a set to ease into the match, then spent the next three slowly squeezing the life out of it.
However, Fairbanks, a legendary coach who had spent much of her life pushing back against convention, didn’t see color.
From Los Angeles Times
For her, too, the struggle was personal—her mother is a well-known activist who spent many years imprisoned.
The only serious competition is Kendrick and SZA's Luther, a sumptuous rap ballad that spent 13 weeks at number one in America last year.
From BBC
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.