misspend

verb

mis·​spend ˌmis-ˈspend 

misspent ˌmis-ˈspent  ; misspending

transitive verb

: to spend wrongly : squander

a misspent life

Synonyms

• blow
• dissipate
• fiddle away
• fritter (away)
• lavish
• lose
• run through
• spend
• squander
• throw away
• trifle (away)
• waste

Examples of misspend in a Sentence

Several government officials have been accused of misspending public money.

warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed

Recent Examples on the Web

Alarmingly, its improper payment rate exceeds 15 percent, representing approximately $100 billion in misspending each year. —Gary D. Alexander, National Review, 30 Oct. 2024

There are also mounting concerns that the new wealth has been misspent. —Piotr Zalewski, Foreign Affairs, 9 Feb. 2014

But then oil prices dropped and Chávez died, followed by Castro, and the money that had flooded into Cuba to fund Revolution 2.0 was gone, largely misspent and stolen. —Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2024

In February, he was found liable for misspending $5.4 million of the group's money by a New York jury. —Hans Nichols, Axios, 3 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

misspend

verb

mis·​spend (ˈ)mis-ˈspend 

misspent -ˈspent  ; misspending

: waste entry 2 sense 3, squander

a misspent youth