squander
Americanverb
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to spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate
-
an obsolete word for scatter
noun
Synonym Usage
See spend.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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squandersimple
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squanderssimple
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have squanderedperfect
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has squanderedperfect
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am squanderingprogressive
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are squanderingprogressive
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is squanderingprogressive
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have been squanderingperfect progressive
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has been squanderingperfect progressive
Past
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squanderedsimple
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had squanderedperfect
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was squanderingprogressive
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were squanderingprogressive
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had been squanderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of squander
First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain
Explanation
To squander means to spend extravagantly, thoughtlessly, or wastefully. If you need to save for college, don't squander your income on nightly sushi dinners. Squander used to mean scatter, and the way we use it now implies throwing something (like money) all over the place. You can squander time as well as money. If you have a big deadline but you are chatting away or looking at social networking sites, you are squandering your time. If you have an opportunity to play for a major league baseball team but show up late to tryouts and criticize the coach, you have probably squandered your chance.
Vocabulary lists containing squander
Fahrenheit 451
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Touching Spirit Bear
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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:
Twelve months later, she reached another Melbourne final - and a flurry of mistakes saw her squander a break lead in the deciding set against Elena Rybakina.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
After losing in straight sets to Rishvanth Krishna from Irvine University in last year’s final, Huarte was not about to squander his second chance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026
Despite the recent surge in interest, MLB is careening toward a labor meltdown that threatens to squander that goodwill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
Mali dominated much of the Group A encounter but saw El Bilal Toure squander a penalty late in the first half at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.
From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025
If you didn’t squander the money in the pubs I wouldn’t have to follow you the way I did in Brooklyn.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Carrie-Anne Moss of “The Matrix” makes for an ideal veteran Jedi, but in its first misstep, “The Acolyte” squanders that opportunity right out of the gate, setting viewers up for disappointment.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
Riseborough plays a single mom from West Texas who resolves to “have a better life” after winning a $190,000 lottery prize but instead squanders her winnings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2023
Trym knows too well how the human touch squanders a wild animal’s dignity.
From Slate ● Dec. 24, 2022
Food waste not only squanders natural resources, money and effort, it degrades the environment.
From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2022
A person who saves a little every day, be it ever so little, has an incalculable advantage over him who daily squanders that amount, or is unable to keep what he has accumulated.
From Popular scientific lectures by Ernst Mach
For a company that has owned a pioneering AI lab since 2014 and has proclaimed itself “AI-first” since 2016, Google seems to have squandered an early lead, experts say.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Fritz squandered a pair of match points at 40-15 and gave himself another with a booming forehand.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
The Americans squandered a generous draw, a high-price coach and a golden opportunity to capture a new generation by blowing their shot at a first quarterfinal in 24 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
The German was criticised for his substitutions as England squandered a 1-0 lead late on, but says he intends to stay to lead the Three Lions into Euro 2028.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
But the squandered time was even more excruciating to bear than the cold.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
I can definitely understand why there might not be, let’s say, a surplus of empathy for a privileged young man carelessly and repeatedly squandering his expensive education.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
The Dodgers came up short in another bases-loaded opportunity the next inning, squandering a chance to take the lead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Oversight of payments to your brother not only prevents him from squandering the money, but it helps family wealth outlast a single generation, the law firm adds.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
They had a knack for disastrous drafting and squandering their top picks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
In the midst of the excitement of the family the scandalization of Úrsula, the joy of the people cramming the street to watch that apotheosis of squandering.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
