spend
spending; spends
When you use money or time, you spend it. If you spend a lot of time at the mall, you'll probably also spend money there.
The verb spend is good for talking about passing time on a particular activity or living in one place for a length of time: "He went on to spend years in India." When you spend money, you pay it in return for something, like when you spend five dollars on a bottle of water at the airport or spend your savings on a trip around the world. The Latin root expendere means "to weigh out money."
Definitions of spend
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pass time in a specific way“how are you spending your summer vacation?”
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synonyms:
pass
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types:
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soldier
serve as a soldier in the military
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slum
spend time at a lower socio-economic level than one's own, motivated by curiosity or desire for adventure; usage considered condescending and insensitive
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weekend
spend the weekend
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holiday, vacation
spend or take a vacation
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do, serve
spend time in prison or in a labor camp
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get through, while away
spend or pass, as with boredom or in a pleasant manner; of time
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sojourn
spend a certain length of time; reside temporarily
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overwinter, winter
spend the winter
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summer
spend the summer
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admit
serve as a means of entrance
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honeymoon
spend a holiday after one's marriage
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pay out“spend money”
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types:
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consume, deplete, eat, eat up, exhaust, run through, use up, wipe out
use up (resources or materials)
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consume, squander, ware, waste
spend extravagantly
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afford
be able to spare or give up
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blow
spend lavishly or wastefully on
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trifle away, wanton, wanton away
spend wastefully
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underspend
spend at less than the normal rate
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misspend
spend (money or other resources) unwisely
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nickel-and-dime, penny-pinch
spend money frugally; spend as little as possible
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commit, invest, place, put
make an investment
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economise, economize, save
spend sparingly, avoid the waste of
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lay out
spend or invest
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piddle, piddle away, trifle, wanton, wanton away
waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently
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misspend
spend time badly or unwisely
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run out
exhaust the supply of
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drain
deplete of resources
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indulge, luxuriate
enjoy to excess
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dissipate, fool, fool away, fritter, fritter away, frivol away, shoot
spend frivolously and unwisely
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luxuriate, wanton
become extravagant; indulge (oneself) luxuriously
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burn, burn off, burn up
use up (energy)
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fund
invest money in government securities
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lavish, shower
expend profusely; also used with abstract nouns
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overspend
spend at a high rate
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tighten one's belt
live frugally and use less resources
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fling, splurge
indulge oneself
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roll over
re-invest (a previous investment) into a similar fund or security
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shelter
invest (money) so that it is not taxable
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tie up
invest so as to make unavailable for other purposes
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job, speculate
invest at a risk
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exhaust, play out, run down, sap, tire
deplete
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buy into
buy stocks or shares of a company
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type of:
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pay
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
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spend completely“I spend my pocket money in two days”
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types:
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overspend
spend more than available of (a budget)
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underspend
spend less than the whole of (a budget, for example)
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overspend
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘spend'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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