to pay out, disburse, or expend; dispose of (money, wealth, resources, etc.): resisting the temptation to spend one's money.
2.
to employ (labor, thought, words, time, etc.), as on some object or in some proceeding: Don't spend much time on it.
3.
to pass (time) in a particular manner, place, etc.: We spent a few days in Baltimore.
4.
to use up, consume, or exhaust: The storm had spent its fury.
5.
to give (one's blood, life, etc.) for some cause.
–verb (used without object)
6.
to spend money, energy, time, etc.
7.
Obsolete. to be consumed or exhausted.
[Origin: 1125–75; ME spenden, continuing OE -spendan (in āspendan, forspendan to spend entirely or utterly) < WGmc < L expendere to pay out, expend; cf. G spenden]
—Synonyms 1.Spend,disburse,expend,squander refer to paying out money. Spend is the general word: We spend more for living expenses now. Disburse implies expending from a specific source or sum to meet specific obligations, or paying in definite allotments: The treasurer has authority to disburse funds. Expend is more formal, and implies spending for some definite and (usually) sensible or worthy object: to expend most of one's salary on necessities. Squander suggests lavish, wasteful, or foolish expenditure: to squander a legacy. 2. use, apply, devote.
To use up or put out; expend: spent an hour exercising.
To pay out (money).
To wear out; exhaust: The storm finally spent itself.
To pass (time) in a specified manner or place: spent their vacation in Paris.
To throw away; squander: spent all their resources on futile projects.
To give up (one's time or efforts, for example) to a cause; sacrifice.
v.
intr.
To pay out or expend money.
To be exhausted or consumed.
[Middle English spenden, partly from Old English -spendan (from Latin expendēre, to expend; see expend) and partly from Old French despendre, to weigh out; see dispense.]
spend'a·ble adj., spend'er n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to pay or give out money or an equivalent: spent eight dollars for a movie ticket; disbursed funds from the account; expended all her energy teaching the class.
"to pay out or away" (money or wealth), O.E. -spendan (in forspendan "use up"), from L. expendere "to weigh out money, pay down" (see expend). A general Gmc. borrowing (cf. O.H.G. spendon, Ger., M.Du. spenden, O.N. spenna). In ref. to labor, thoughts, time, etc., attested from c.1300.
Dis*pend"\, v. t. [OF. despendre, L. dispendere to weigh out, dispense; dis- + pendere to weigh. See Pension, Spend, and cf. Dispense.] To spend; to lay out; to expend. [Obs.] --Spenser. Able to dispend yearly twenty pounds and above. --Fuller.
Ex*pend"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Expended; p. pr. & vb. n. Expending.] [L. expendere, expensum, to weigh out, pay out, lay out, lay out; ex out + pendere to weigh. See Poise, and cf. Spend.] To lay out, apply, or employ in any way; to consume by use; to use up or distribute, either in payment or in donations; to spend; as, they expend money for food or in charity; to expend time labor, and thought; to expend hay in feeding cattle, oil in a lamp, water in mechanical operations. If my death might make this island happy . . . I would expend it with all willingness. --Shak.
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Audio Help [spend] Pronunciation Key, verb, spent, spend·ing. 
