First Known Use: 13th century
Dictionary
spend
verb \ˈspend\
: to use (money) to pay for something
: to allow (time) to pass in a particular place or while doing a particular activity
: to use (energy or effort) to do something
spent \ˈspent\ spend·ing
Full Definition of SPEND
transitive verb
1
: to use up or pay out : expend
2
3
: to cause or permit to elapse : pass <spend the night>
intransitive verb
1
: to expend or waste wealth or strength
2
: to become expended or consumed
3
: to have an orgasm
— spend·able \ˈspen-də-bəl\ adjective
— spend·er noun
See spend defined for English-language learners
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Origin of SPEND
Middle English, from Old English -spendan, from Medieval Latin expendere to disburse, use up, from Latin, to measure by weight, pay out — more at expend
Related to SPEND
SPEND Defined for Kids
spend
verb \ˈspend\
spent \ˈspent\spend·ing
Definition of SPEND for Kids
1
: to use (money) to pay for something
2
: to cause or allow (as time) to pass <… he parked his car … and was spending considerable time walking about town. — Robert McCloskey, Homer Price>
3
: to use wastefully : squander <She spends a lot of energy worrying.>
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