expend

1 of 2

verb

ex·​pend ik-ˈspend How to pronounce expend (audio)
expended; expending; expends
Synonyms of expend

transitive verb

1
: to pay out : spend
… the social services upon which public revenue is expended.—J. A. Hobson
2
: to make use of for a specific purpose : utilize
projects on which they expended great energy
also : use up
expender noun

expender

2 of 2

noun

ex·​pend·​er
plural -s
: one that expends

Synonyms of expend

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Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of expend in a Sentence

Verb Are we willing to expend the time and resources required to solve the problem? redecoration will have to wait, since we've just expended our last dollar in buying the house
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Those who track their sleep expend excessive time and effort for little benefit. — Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Fortune, 21 June 2026 Deadhead spent flowers to keep plants from expending energy on seed development. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 16 June 2026 One of those blew up on its landing attempt while another was purposefully expended to get its payload to a higher orbital insertion. — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 June 2026 Their role was not necessarily to destroy the air-defense system outright but to saturate it, forcing it to expend its interceptor missiles before the cruise missiles arrived. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 26 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for expend

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English expenden, exspenden, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French espendre, expendre, borrowed from Latin expendere "to weigh, pay out, disburse," from ex- ex- entry 1 + pendere "to weigh, have a weight of, pay (out), estimate, consider" — more at pendent

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of expend was in the 15th century

Rhymes for expend

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Browse Nearby Words

expeller man
expend
expendability
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Expend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expend. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

expend

verb
ex·​pend ik-ˈspend How to pronounce expend (audio)
1
: to pay out : spend
expend state funds
2
: use up
expend energy

More from Merriam-Webster on expend

Nglish: Translation of expend for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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