misspend

verb

mis·​spend ˌmis-ˈspend How to pronounce misspend (audio)
misspent ˌmis-ˈspent How to pronounce misspend (audio) ; misspending
Synonyms of misspendnext

transitive verb

: to spend wrongly : squander
a misspent life

Synonyms of misspend

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of misspend in a Sentence

Several government officials have been accused of misspending public money. warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed
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.
In last week’s debate, the moderators asked about billions of local and state dollars for homelessness that were allegedly misspent. — Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026 There are literally a million better ways to stop food waste than partnering with a family that has been convicted of felonies for misspending nonprofit money. — Emily Barnes, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025 Two former inspectors who monitored the energy efficiency program have come forward publicly with allegations that millions in ratepayer funds were misspent. — Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 20 Apr. 2026 Another is the surprising fact that no Florida law specifically prohibits public officials from misspending public funds on political advertising. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for misspend

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of misspend was in the 14th century

Rhymes for misspend

See All Rhymes for misspend

Browse Nearby Words

misspelling
misspend
misspent youth
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster on misspend

Nglish: Translation of misspend for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All