expend

verb

ex·​pend ik-ˈspend 

expended; expending; expends

transitive verb

1

: to pay out : spend

the social services upon which public revenue is expended

—J. A. Hobson

2

: to make use of for a specific purpose : utilize

projects on which they expended great energy

also : use up

expender noun

Synonyms

• disburse
• drop
• fork (over, out, or up)
• give
• lay out
• outlay
• pay
• shell out
• spend

Examples of expend in a Sentence

Are we willing to expend the time and resources required to solve the problem?

redecoration will have to wait, since we've just expended our last dollar in buying the house

Recent Examples on the Web

While most of these hotels expended their purpose by the time the women’s liberation and Civil Rights movements took hold in the 1960s and ’70s, and were converted into all-gender apartment buildings or demolished, some were still in operation into the 21st century. —Scarlett Harris, Architectural Digest, 31 Oct. 2024

On Low’s side, the Golden State Leadership Fund has been the biggest spender, having expended $399,000 on his candidacy in the primary. —Harriet Blair Rowan, The Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2024

Brown's Senate colleagues have expended significant effort to support his reelection campaign. —Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2024

As a correction to a culture where people expend emotional and cognitive resources to pretend everything is fine, and relationships lacked authenticity, this has been a bonus. —Nancy Doyle, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin expendere to weigh out, expend, from ex- + pendere to weigh — more at spin

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

expend

verb

ex·​pend ik-ˈspend 

1

: to pay out : spend

expend state funds

2

: use up

expend energy