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spend Definition

spend (spend)

transitive verb spent, spend′·ing

  1. to use up, exhaust, consume, or wear out his fury was spent
  2. to pay out (money); disburse
  3. to give or devote (time, labor, thought, or effort) to some enterprise or for some purpose
  4. to pass (a period of time) spending hours together
  5. to waste; squander

Etymology: ME spenden < OE spendan (in comp.) < ML spendere < L expendere: see expend

intransitive verb

  1. to pay out or use up money, etc.
  2. Obsolete to be or become consumed, wasted, etc.

spend Related Forms
spend′·able adjective
spend Synonyms

spend

v.

  1. To expend

    consume, deplete, waste, dispense, contribute, donate, give, liquidate, exhaust, squander, disburse, allocate, pay, discharge, lay out, pay up, settle, defray, drain one's resources, empty one's purse, bestow, use up, put in, confer, misspend, absorb, prodigalize, throw away, cast away, foot the bill*, ante up*, open the purse*, fork out*, pony up*, blow*.

    Antonyms save*, keep, conserve.

  2. To pass time

    while away, let pass, idle, fritter away, misuse, occupy oneself, employ, fill, put in, squander, kill, fool away, drift, laze; see also consume 2, use 1, waste 2.

spend Usage Examples

Object

  • hour: I have spent the last few hours in a private chat room with my family.
  • money: In reality the NHS has never spent enough money on ICT.
  • time: I am glad you were able to spend the time sitting out in the sun with Pepper.
  • lot: Linux users tend to spend lots of time under Linux, they are a bit out of touch with the windows world.
  • night: I will be coy on exactly where I spent the night.
  • rest: She spend the rest of her money on markers.

Preposition: on

  • advertising: Good SEO results in increased traffic without the cost and time spent on advertising.
  • placement: Your third year is spent on placement in a social research organization where your skills can be practiced and honed.

Present participle complement

  • relax: The ones looking for contact with nature are invited to spend relaxing hours with fishing-rod on the Vistula riverbank or at the park pond.
  • prepare: Time spent preparing them would be better spent on a longer consultation period, or on devising supplementary means of consultation.
  • explore: South Wales DAY THREE - Monday Today will be spent exploring the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan.
  • try: The rest of the game was spent trying to equalize against a Lowdham defense that grew more panicky and cynical with each passing minute.
  • birding: Our last day in Galveston was spent birding the general area around town.
  • travel: Time spent traveling, usually in bad conditions, is excessive in the eyes of many of us.

Adjective complement

  • most: I spent most of my time on the grid trails, which I think is probably the best strategy.
  • less: More than seven out of ten firms spent less than 5 % on marketing themselves.
  • more: The Government will spend more than £ 1.7 billion on Winter Fuel Payments this year.
  • online: You just pay a local-rate call charge for the time you spend online - as low as 1p per minute.

Preposition: in

  • excess: B&NES has spent in excess of £ 500,000 on the Southgate application.
  • classroom: Student performance seems to increase with each year the teacher spends in the classroom.
spend Quotes

I want to spend, and spend, and spend!

—Nicholson,Vivian

Come, my Celia, let us prove, While we can, the sports of love, Time will not be ours for ever, He, at length, our good will sever; Spend not then his gifts in vain: Suns that set may rise again; But if once we lose this light, 'Tis with us perpetual night. Why should we defer our joys? Fame and rumour are but toys.

—Jonson, Ben

I want a house that has got over all its troubles; I don't want to spend the rest of my life bringing up a young and inexperienced house.

—Jerome,Jerome K(lapka)

Resolve not to be poor; whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy tohumanhappiness; itcertainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult. 446

—Johnson, Samuel known as Dr Johnson