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.
For every $100 that American importers spent on goods last year, about $9 went to buy products made in China—the lowest proportion since 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization.
Jacobs and Carter had spent days stacking wigs onto more wigs, playing with cartoonishly large shapes from head to toe, trying to see what beauty and accessories might look best with the collections’ oversized garments.
From Salon
Len was interested in cooking from an early age and spent a lot of time with his mother in the kitchen.
Guthrie has spent most of the last seven weeks in Tucson with her family.
From Los Angeles Times
However, the longer Bellamy has spent in the job, the more he has enjoyed it, and it is becoming clear he plans to honour his contract.
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.