splurge
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to indulge oneself in some luxury or pleasure, especially a costly one.
They splurged on a trip to Europe.
-
to show off.
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
-
an ostentatious display, esp of wealth
-
a bout of unrestrained extravagance
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
splurgesimple
-
splurgessimple
-
have splurgedperfect
-
has splurgedperfect
-
am splurgingprogressive
-
are splurgingprogressive
-
is splurgingprogressive
-
have been splurgingperfect progressive
-
has been splurgingperfect progressive
Past
-
splurgedsimple
-
had splurgedperfect
-
was splurgingprogressive
-
were splurgingprogressive
-
had been splurgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of splurge
Explanation
To splurge is to indulge yourself. You can also go on a splurge if you spend a lot or act extravagantly in another way. Anyone might have a cupcake. If you have 10 cupcakes, that's a splurge. When you go on a splurge or are splurging, it usually applies to money. Splurging happens when you see a lot of things you want — or even one very expensive thing — and buy it, even though you might not be able to afford it. When you splurge, you're going wild in some way. A splurge is sometimes called a binge.
Vocabulary lists containing splurge
With the Fire on High
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Some Places More Than Others
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The List of Things That Will Not Change
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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.
See Examples For:
She’s 25 and unemployed, and it’s unclear at first how she acquired the funds to splurge on an on-site cottage with a pool, 90-minute massages, and various forced-fun adventures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
“We can’t go abroad and splurge like we used to,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
And back-to-school spending is often more of a need than a splurge for families, McCarthy said, so retailers want to aggressively protect their piece of what is often a fixed budget.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
A consumer who won’t splurge on a luxury bag may still pay for a weekend hike, a pet, a fitness class, a short domestic trip, or a companion to eat hot pot with.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
I was neither, but under the circumstances, I was willing to splurge a little.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
A lack of updating, rising mall rents and splurges on new businesses weakened its business until it declared bankruptcy in 2014.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Are you one of those travelers who splurges on premium cabins?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics added that he did not expect Takaichi to embark on any new major spending splurges or tax cuts.
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
A relative who hosts huge dinners for her extended family splurges the next day: hiring a housekeeper to come and going out to get a mani-pedi, 10-minute back and neck massage.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2025
He pulled the bell for starting her, and with a thrill of delight he heard the wheels splashing in the water; and the great splurges began to roll up on the shore.
From Haste and Waste; Or, the Young Pilot of Lake Champlain. a Story for Young People by Optic, Oliver
The suburban Philadelphia family splurged on tickets to seven matches—five of which all four of the family members will attend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
The Dodgers also splurged in December by signing former New York Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz to a $69 million three-year deal, making him the highest paid closer in baseball.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
Stomach gnawing and hands slightly shaky, I loaded up on ephemera for fancy paninis, held together with swipes of giardiniera mayo, and splurged on some pastel-hued botanical sodas for drinking straight from the can.
From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2026
John scored quarter-zip sweaters for himself and his father-in-law, and his wife splurged on a tweed jacket for Christmas Day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025
We didn’t have access to the dance rooms at school over winter break, and we were really sick of the cardboard boxes we’d used on weekends, so we splurged on an upgrade.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
It’s also unclear why she chose a five-star resort for the splurging, given her discomfort with everything from the menu on down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Average Chinese aren’t splurging much these days with the economy in the doldrums.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Sure, some attendees may be splurging thousands on a single ticket, but others are getting nothing at all, even after traveling across international borders for games.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
One tool that can help guide people’s decisions about splurging is a personal values statement, said Ashley Agnew, a financial therapist at Edward Jones.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026
She did not want to be the only one splurging.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
