What does "spend" mean?
Amount of money spent (during a period); expenditure.
Spend
/spɛnd/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Amount of money spent (during a period); expenditure.
- Grammar: spend is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: ablate, absorb, allot, assign.
- Useful contrasts: accumulated, amassing, bank.
- Usage evidence: I don't want to spend the rest of my life regretting it.
How to use "spend"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spend" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "spend" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "spend" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spend" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "spend" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ablate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "spend", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Amount of money spent (during a period); expenditure. countable, uncountable
"I’m sorry, boss, but the advertising spend exceeded the budget again this month."
- 2 Expenditures; money or pocket money. countable, in-plural, uncountable
"Total January spends by year"
- 3 Discharged semen. countable, uncountable
- 4 Vaginal discharge. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To pay out (money). ambitransitive
"He spends far more on gambling than he does on living proper."
- 2 pay out wordnet
- 3 To bestow; to employ; often with on or upon.
"I […] am never loath / To spend my judgment."
- 4 spend completely wordnet
- 5 To squander. dated
"to spend an estate in gambling"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 use up a period of time in a specific way wordnet
- 7 To exhaust, to wear out.
"The violence of the waves was spent."
- 8 To consume, to use up (time).
"My sister usually spends her free time in nightclubs."
- 9 To have an orgasm; to ejaculate sexually. ambitransitive, dated
"The fish spends his semen on eggs which he finds floating and whose mother he has never seen."
- 10 To waste or wear away; to be consumed. intransitive
"Energy spends in the using of it."
- 11 To be diffused; to spread.
"The vines that they use for wine are so often cut, that their sap spendeth into the grapes."
- 12 To break ground; to continue working.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"I don't want to spend the rest of my life regretting it."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spend"?
Common synonyms include: ablate, absorb, allot, assign, assimilate, attend to business.
How do you use "spend" in a sentence?
I don't want to spend the rest of my life regretting it.
How do you pronounce "spend"?
Pronounced /spɛnd/.
Etymology
From Middle English spenden, from Old English spendan (attested especially in compounds āspendan (“to spend”), forspendan (“to use up, consume”)), from Proto-West Germanic *spendōn (“to spend”), borrowed from Latin expendere (“to weigh out”). Doublet of expend. Cognate with Old High German spentōn (“to consume, use, spend”) (whence German spenden (“to donate, provide”)), Middle Dutch spenden (“to spend, dedicate”), Old Icelandic spenna (“to spend”).