fritter away
phrasal verb
frittered away; frittering away; fritters away
: to spend or use up (something) in a slow and usually foolish way
He frittered the afternoon away.
He frittered away his fortune on gambling.
Examples of fritter away in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Aside from his memory—and the iconic statue of him outside the United Center—the basketball Hall of Famer’s presence is all but frittered away from Windy City.
—
Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Maybe anything happens other than frittering away time on the clock and ending the game with an unused timeout.
—Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 29 Nov. 2024
Virginia Tech got the ball with 1:47 left and two timeouts and proceeded to run a clinic on how to fritter away time and opportunity on a final drive.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 28 Sep. 2024
The bad news is that the season is already 14 percent over, and the Giants have spent most of it frittering away leads.
—Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 23 Apr. 2024
Without this hazy atmosphere, Pluto’s volatile glaciers would have encountered the full brunt of the sun and frittered away into oblivion.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
In a matter of weeks, Trump frittered away his commanding position.
—Brian Bennett, TIME, 11 Sep. 2024
Maximizing impact requires resisting prematurely frittering away U.S. leverage by using financial sector sanctions to manage tensions with China that do not rise to a crisis or conflict threshold.
—Emily Kilcrease, Foreign Affairs, 7 May 2024
Instead of an airport lounge, travelers can also fritter away the hours before a flight at a nearby gym, pool, or spa.
—Melanie Lieberman, Travel + Leisure, 22 Feb. 2018
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Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Maybe anything happens other than frittering away time on the clock and ending the game with an unused timeout.
—Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 29 Nov. 2024
Virginia Tech got the ball with 1:47 left and two timeouts and proceeded to run a clinic on how to fritter away time and opportunity on a final drive.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 28 Sep. 2024
The bad news is that the season is already 14 percent over, and the Giants have spent most of it frittering away leads.
—Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 23 Apr. 2024
Without this hazy atmosphere, Pluto’s volatile glaciers would have encountered the full brunt of the sun and frittered away into oblivion.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
In a matter of weeks, Trump frittered away his commanding position.
—Brian Bennett, TIME, 11 Sep. 2024
Maximizing impact requires resisting prematurely frittering away U.S. leverage by using financial sector sanctions to manage tensions with China that do not rise to a crisis or conflict threshold.
—Emily Kilcrease, Foreign Affairs, 7 May 2024
Instead of an airport lounge, travelers can also fritter away the hours before a flight at a nearby gym, pool, or spa.
—Melanie Lieberman, Travel + Leisure, 22 Feb. 2018
Dictionary Entries Near fritter away
Cite this Entry
“Fritter away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fritter%20away. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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