verb
adjective
-
used up or exhausted; consumed
-
(of a fish) exhausted by spawning
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
Millions will be spent to regild the hulking Art Deco statues that buttress Arlington Memorial Bridge.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
He spent 71 days behind bars after his nine-month sentence was reduced on appeal.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
For the better part of a year, I spent myriad sleepless nights wrestling with my conscience.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2026
Cities have spent hundreds of millions of dollars related to this once-in-a-generation sporting event.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
It’s clear that Miss Genovese has spent a lot of time going over the outline of this morning, scrutinizing every detail of what happened for clues.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
