SPEND (spent)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: spent   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does spend mean? 

• SPEND (verb)
  The verb SPEND has 3 senses:

1. use up a period of time in a specific way

2. pay out

3. spend completely

  Familiarity information: SPEND used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPEND (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they spend    ... he / she / it spends   
Past simple: spent   
Past participle: spent   
-ing form: spending   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Use up a period of time in a specific way

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

pass; spend

Context example:

how are you spending your summer vacation?

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "spend"):

summer (spend the summer)

overwinter; winter (spend the winter)

sojourn (spend a certain length of time; reside temporarily)

get through; while away (spend or pass, as with boredom or in a pleasant manner; of time)

do; serve (spend time in prison or in a labor camp)

holiday; vacation (spend or take a vacation)

weekend (spend the weekend)

slum (spend time at a lower socio-economic level than one's own, motivated by curiosity or desire for adventure; usage considered condescending and insensitive)

soldier (serve as a soldier in the military)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They spend a long time

Sense 2

Meaning:

Pay out

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

drop; expend; spend

Context example:

spend money

Hypernyms (to "spend" is one way to...):

pay (give money, usually in exchange for goods or services)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "spend"):

consume; squander; ware; waste (spend extravagantly)

misspend (spend time badly or unwisely)

piddle; piddle away; trifle; wanton; wanton away (waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently)

lay out (spend or invest)

economise; economize; save (spend sparingly, avoid the waste of)

commit; invest; place; put (make an investment)

nickel-and-dime; penny-pinch (spend money frugally; spend as little as possible)

underspend (spend at less than the normal rate)

trifle away; wanton; wanton away (spend wastefully)

blow (spend lavishly or wastefully on)

afford (be able to spare or give up)

consume; deplete; eat; eat up; exhaust; run through; use up; wipe out (use up (resources or materials))

misspend (spend (money or other resources) unwisely)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something on somebody

Sentence examples:

They spend money on their grandchild
They spend the money

Derivation:

spender (someone who spends money to purchase goods or services)

spending (the act of spending or disbursing money)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Spend completely

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

I spend my pocket money in two days

Hypernyms (to "spend" is one way to...):

consume; deplete; eat; eat up; exhaust; run through; use up; wipe out (use up (resources or materials))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "spend"):

overspend (spend more than available of (a budget))

underspend (spend less than the whole of (a budget, for example))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something on somebody

Sentence example:

They spend the money

Derivation:

spender (someone who spends money prodigally)

spending (the act of spending or disbursing money)

 Context examples 

I should like to spend my whole life in reading it.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

I spent five days in conversing with many others of the ancient learned.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

You spent your time pleasantly there?

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

It was very splendid, and they have gone to spend the winter in Paris.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The hours he spent with Ruth were the only happy ones he had, and they were not all happy.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It seems you’ve been spending more money than usual lately.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

McDermott spends much of his time studying how the brain processes sound.

(Understanding how the brain makes sense of sound, National Science Foundation)

Perhaps you may now begin to regret that you spent one whole day, out of so few, in having your hair cut.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

A question about whether an individual spends or has spent much time getting ready before going out.

(Before Going Out I Spend Time Preparing, NCI Thesaurus)

Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) Additional Concerns: I am forced to spend time in bed.

(FAMS - Forced to Spend Time in Bed, NCI Thesaurus)