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
And what many people don’t know is that behind every patient is a cancer registry specialist (CRS) spending hours reading through charts, identifying events, interpreting dates and ensuring accuracy for each case.
—
David Talby, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
The Phillies have spent considerable time searching for predictable patterns to his movements, pitch selection … anything.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 24 July 2025
After his second consecutive game-winner, Boatright spent the two days leading up to the Syracuse Regional Final on ice but didn’t heal in time and the Stars didn’t have a backup.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 24 July 2025
Chopra is well known for spending much of his career developing, teaching, writing about and disseminating such practices.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for spend
David Talby, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
The Phillies have spent considerable time searching for predictable patterns to his movements, pitch selection … anything.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 24 July 2025
After his second consecutive game-winner, Boatright spent the two days leading up to the Syracuse Regional Final on ice but didn’t heal in time and the Stars didn’t have a backup.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 24 July 2025
Chopra is well known for spending much of his career developing, teaching, writing about and disseminating such practices.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for spend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spend
Verb
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McLaurin wants to be paid like one of the top wideouts in the NFL.—
Justin Grasso,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Aug. 2025
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Customers were still being served at the location at that time, and the inspector ordered the restaurant to close until the water bill was paid and the facility was cleaned.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Good Culture took advantage of its own viral moment with an ad campaign embracing the various ways of preparing and consuming its product.—
Danielle Wiener-Bronner,
CNN Money,
26 July 2025
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And each switch requires the brain to reorient itself, which consumes mental energy and slows overall performance, Dr. Schiff explains.—
Noma Nazish,
Forbes.com,
26 July 2025
Verb
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Update your profile headline to include your target client Your LinkedIn headline is so important and most people waste on job titles.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
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Whole departments can get stuck defending past decisions because admitting a mistake feels worse than wasting more money.—
JJ Rosen,
The Tennessean,
24 July 2025
Verb
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Samsung has given Harman access to a wide array of technologies beyond traditional audio, including instrument panels and driver monitoring.—
Mark Phelan,
Freep.com,
27 July 2025
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His cameo in Rocky III gave wrestling mainstream attention, along with his cartoon called Hulk Hogan’s Rock 'n’ Wrestling, which was broadcast on Saturday mornings in the mid-1980s.—
Mark LaSota,
Forbes.com,
27 July 2025
Verb
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Several of Yazan’s four older siblings also looked thin and drained.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Chicago Tribune,
25 July 2025
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The answer is to stop dating men who drain your brilliance, and to start dating as the woman who chooses herself first.—
Ximena Araya-Fischel,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
Verb
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Some Pentagon officials, however, acknowledge that the tradeoff for speed and expense is losing the armor that saved lives and limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA Today,
2 Aug. 2025
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In other words, about one in five Detroit voters will make crucial decisions about who will serve as Detroit's next mayor, who'll fill two open seats on the Detroit City Council, and which councilmembers will keep ― or lose ― their seats.—
Nancy Kaffer,
Freep.com,
2 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Ferrell, who contended that their father wanted to be cremated, ultimately agreed to a settlement, reportedly after exhausting nearly $100,000 in legal fees and running out of funds to continue the fight.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
23 July 2025
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The goal is to exhaust the activist organization’s resources and force them to shut down.—
Marianne Krasny,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Verb
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Some of that tariff cost will be passed on to consumers, and some will be absorbed by U.S. tomato importers, Badillo said.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
22 July 2025
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Bonding panels together rather than welding them makes controlling the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels much easier as the adhesives absorb vibrations, while the stiffness provides much more control in terms of lateral movement.—
Alex Kalogiannis,
ArsTechnica,
22 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spend. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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