1
as in to pay
to hand over or use up in payment
I always end up spending too much money at the mall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to consume
to make complete use of
the town has already spent its budget for snow removal, and it's only January
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to waste
to use up carelessly
spent all his energy on impractical schemes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spend
Franchise tagging Diggs could be possible, but spending $25.6 million on a receiver who’s 31 and coming off a significant injury is questionable.
—
Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2025
Listen to this article Nonprofits serving the Poway area have started spending some of the $78,500 in grants — the first awarded by the Poway Community Foundation to help people in need.
—Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025
Sleeping the necessary seven to nine hours is like making a deposit, and any deprivation (that is, being awake more than 17 hours in a row) is like spending.
—Ashley Abramson, Allure, 18 Feb. 2025
The Jaguars spent the last two seasons in Class 3A, losing 39-38 to Marshall in the Section 2AAA semifinals last year.
—Tom Schardin, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spend
Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2025
Listen to this article Nonprofits serving the Poway area have started spending some of the $78,500 in grants — the first awarded by the Poway Community Foundation to help people in need.
—Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025
Sleeping the necessary seven to nine hours is like making a deposit, and any deprivation (that is, being awake more than 17 hours in a row) is like spending.
—Ashley Abramson, Allure, 18 Feb. 2025
The Jaguars spent the last two seasons in Class 3A, losing 39-38 to Marshall in the Section 2AAA semifinals last year.
—Tom Schardin, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spend
Verb
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Over the past three years, the US government has paid poultry producers more than $1.25 billon dollars to compensate them for the loss of their flocks.—
Brenda Goodman,
CNN,
26 Feb. 2025
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The resort also pays for the catch the fishermen willing to sell them.—
Emese Maczko,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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By cutting out sugar and consuming the right amount of carbohydrates and protein before and after training, the defender put on 10kg without losing any speed.—
Jay Harris,
The Athletic,
20 Feb. 2025
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While Nile crocodiles typically drag their prey into the water and consume them, Gustave has been repeatedly observed killing humans and leaving their bodies behind.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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That’s so her milk won’t be wasted nursing her children.—
Michael Freeman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Feb. 2025
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Nearly half of digital investment is wasted due to misalignments between business and tech teams.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The location is atypical for its purpose, given its proximity to major sources of water, which left the tomb badly damaged from flooding not long after Thutmose II’s death.—
Francesca Aton for ArtNews,
Robb Report,
20 Feb. 2025
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This warrant does not give agents permission to search and seize private property.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The swamp is not being drained; it’s being filled with more water than the Panama Canal.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2025
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Patrick Reed drained a hole-in-one at the 'Watering Hole,' which sent fans into a frenzy.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Where slave labor once made bricks, and thousands lost their lives, the designer crafted a massive concrete monument, completed in 1969.—
Michael Allen,
The Conversation,
27 Feb. 2025
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This all might help explain why some of the hot tech trades over the past year have lost their momentum.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Cowboys seem to be more concerned about the possibility of cap hell than exhausting every last resource to win now.—
Jon Machota,
The Athletic,
13 Feb. 2025
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The Baltimore region has recently faced a volley of winter weather, exhausting some school systems of their snow days and leaving slippery roads behind.—
Dan Belson,
Baltimore Sun,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
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This became the hope, and the promise, of comedy as standup exploded in popularity in the latter half of the twentieth century, its cadences absorbed into other realms of American entertainment, from late night to the sitcom.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
The New Yorker,
27 Feb. 2025
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Similarly, 300-unit market-rate buildings have lower costs per unit than 40-unit buildings that absorb the cost of federal funds and the inefficient system that is LIHTC.—
Marisa Novara,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spend. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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