1
as in paying
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 consuming
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 wasting
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 spending
After spending the first nine years of his career with the Washington Capitals, Johansson was traded to the New Jersey Devils in the summer of 2017, just before the Caps broke through with their Cup win.
—
Carol Schram, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Simon-Kucher also has a new holiday shopping report, which surveyed consumers in July, and is forecasting Gen Z shoppers to reduce their holiday shopping budget by only 1%, from $814 to $805, while Millennials will be spending 14% more year over year.
—Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 13 Sep. 2025
Frank and Maureen Olton were simply spending a Monday morning at home and their deaths have shattered the sense of safety and security in New York.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Democrats are also spending big to find online voices, who can appeal to voters.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Begiristain is now spending time with his family in his home city of San Sebastian, embracing life out of the fast lane.
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
Hargrave spoke to the way she has been impacted by spending time with Gibson and Falley.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Sep. 2025
This could mean booking a therapy session, spending the day at a spa or taking more personal days.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 12 Sep. 2025
Enyedi shifts between the three storylines at will, sometimes spending several minutes in one only to cut to another for a few seconds and then over to the third.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
Carol Schram, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Simon-Kucher also has a new holiday shopping report, which surveyed consumers in July, and is forecasting Gen Z shoppers to reduce their holiday shopping budget by only 1%, from $814 to $805, while Millennials will be spending 14% more year over year.
—Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 13 Sep. 2025
Frank and Maureen Olton were simply spending a Monday morning at home and their deaths have shattered the sense of safety and security in New York.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Democrats are also spending big to find online voices, who can appeal to voters.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Begiristain is now spending time with his family in his home city of San Sebastian, embracing life out of the fast lane.
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
Hargrave spoke to the way she has been impacted by spending time with Gibson and Falley.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Sep. 2025
This could mean booking a therapy session, spending the day at a spa or taking more personal days.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 12 Sep. 2025
Enyedi shifts between the three storylines at will, sometimes spending several minutes in one only to cut to another for a few seconds and then over to the third.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spending
Verb
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The average vehicle sells for nearly $50,000 and almost 20% of new car buyers are paying $1,000 or more a month, the report said.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Richard Linklater’s French-language black-and-white film Nouvelle Vague, paying tribute to the French New Wave movement, initially looked like one of the strongest candidates for the honor.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The North Korean government is increasingly executing civilians, including people found to be consuming unapproved foreign media, according to a report from the United Nations Human Rights Office.—
Mike Brest,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
But some nutrition scientists warn that thanks to social media trends, many people may be consuming too much protein.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To avoid wasting time and money, leaders need a simple rule.—
Rishit Lakhani,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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But slow oxygen chemistry has remained a stubborn bottleneck, wasting energy and shortening battery life.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The club fees paid by growers go to marketing investments used for websites, TikToks, and ads, giving it wider appeal.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
12 Sep. 2025
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As the overall matter heads towards its March 9, 2026 trial date start, Judge Liman will have the final word – for now – on bringing Swift on board and giving Baldoni and his Wayfarer co-founders more time for their own depositions.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Car dependency forces millions to borrow for an asset that immediately loses value, draining their wealth while binding them to a lifestyle with no real exit.—
Henrietta Moore,
Fortune,
16 Sep. 2025
-
We are retired, and this is draining us.—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Despite spending the whole three-hour awards show telling people that their overlong speeches were losing the Boys & Girls Club of America money, the bit was a ruse.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
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Resilience, in the simplest terms, is the ability to recover from challenges, adapt to change and keep moving forward without losing your core sense of purpose.—
Raquel Gomes,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For more than a century, the region has been caught in a thrilling but exhausting economic romance.—
Reid Rasner,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Jones remained on Ohio's death row for decades, exhausting most of his appeals, until Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Wende Cross overturned his murder conviction, freed him from prison and granted him a new trial two years ago.—
Dan Horn,
The Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The confirmation came just two days before the Fed is expected to vote on reducing its key interest rate.—
Adeola Adeosun
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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Every action counts, whether reducing HFCs, investing in sustainable cooling, or holding governments accountable for climate commitments.—
Dianne Plummer,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spending. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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