spend

A1 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled spen

US /spɛnd/ UK /spɛnd/ See IPA manual

Freq #818

Meanings

1

verb
To pay out money to buy or do something.

I spent fifty dollars on a new pair of shoes.
2

verb
To pass or use up time in a particular way.

We spent the whole afternoon walking by the river.
3

verb
To use up completely or exhaust.

By the end of the race the runners had spent all their energy.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to pay out money to buy or... drop

2 verb · to pass or use up time in a... pass

Word family

Forms spendsspent

Derived forms bespendforespendforspendheartspentmisspendnonspendingoutspendoverspendrespendspavingspend-allspendability

Appears in

Phrases (8)

See all

spend a month
to pass an entire month somewhere or doing something

Verb + noun
spend an hour
to use an hour doing a particular activity

Verb + noun
spend the day
to pass the hours of a day doing something

Verb + noun
spend the night
to sleep somewhere overnight

Verb + noun
spend the summer
pass the summer season somewhere or doing something

Verb + noun
spend the weekend
to pass the time of the weekend doing something or somewhere

Verb + noun

Proverbs (3)

See all

Simplified etymology

Spend is found in Old English and shares a root with Latin expendere “pay out,” from which expense derives.

Etymology

From Middle English spenden, from Old English spendan (attested especially in compounds āspendan (“to spend”), forspendan (“to use up, consume”)), from Proto-West Germanic *spendōn (“to spend”), borrowed from Latin expendere (“to weigh out”). Doublet of expend. Cognate with Old High German spentōn (“to consume, use, spend”) (whence German spenden (“to donate, provide”)), Middle Dutch spenden (“to spend, dedicate”), Old Icelandic spenna (“to spend”).

*(s)pend- Proto-Indo-European spenden Middle English spendan Old English *spendōn Proto-West Germanic expendere Latin

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Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# spend

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /spɛnd/
**IPA (UK):** /spɛnd/
**Frequency rank:** 818

## Meanings
1. To pay out money to buy or do something.
2. To pass or use up time in a particular way.
3. To use up completely or exhaust.

## Examples
- I spent fifty dollars on a new pair of shoes.
- We spent the whole afternoon walking by the river.
- By the end of the race the runners had spent all their energy.

## Derived Forms
- bespend
- forespend
- forspend
- heartspent
- misspend
- nonspending
- outspend
- overspend
- respend
- spaving
- spend-all
- spendability

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(s)pend-
- Root: spenden
- Root: spendan
- Root: *spendōn
- Root: expendere

## Etymology
From Middle English spenden, from Old English spendan (attested especially in compounds āspendan (“to spend”), forspendan (“to use up, consume”)), from Proto-West Germanic *spendōn (“to spend”), borrowed from Latin expendere (“to weigh out”). Doublet of expend. Cognate with Old High German spentōn (“to consume, use, spend”) (whence German spenden (“to donate, provide”)), Middle Dutch spenden (“to spend, dedicate”), Old Icelandic spenna (“to spend”).

## AI Etymology
Spend is from Middle English spenden, from Old English spendan (attested especially in compounds āspendan (“to spend”), forspendan (“to use up, consume”)), from Proto-West Germanic *spendōn (“to spend”), borrowed from Latin expendere (“to weigh out”). Doublet of expend. Cognate with Old High German spentōn (“to consume, use, spend”) (whence German spenden (“to donate, provide”)), Middle Dutch spenden (“to spend, dedicate”), Old Icelandic spenna (“to spend”). Important forms in the word's history include Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-, Middle English spenden, Old English spendan, Proto-West Germanic *spendōn, Latin expendere. In current use it includes senses such as To pay out money to buy or do something and To pass or use up time in a particular way.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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