What does spend mean?
Spend means to use money, time, or another resource. It is especially common in relation to personal finances, as in spending money or saving part of a salary, and to the passing of time, as when someone spends an afternoon reading or years gaining experience. The verb can also describe exhausting a material through use, although this sense is less common. In financial and organizational contexts, the related noun refers to an amount expended, as in daily or annual spending. Spend is usually neutral and often suggests deliberate use; the choice of a related word can change its tone, with consume often emphasizing reduction and squander emphasizing wastefulness. Compared with more formal alternatives such as expend and expenditure, spend is widely used in everyday speech and professional communication alike. Its simplicity and flexibility make it useful whenever an activity or resource is being used up over time.
To use money, time, energy, or another resource, especially over a period of time.
"The team spent several months preparing for the competition."
The sense involving money is neutral. When applied to time, it can imply attention or devotion, as in spending time with someone.
An amount of money used or spent by a person, organization, or business.
"The campaign had a total spend of $50,000."
This noun is especially common in business, finance, marketing, and public-sector reporting.
The plural is uncommon in general use but occurs in financial and business contexts, particularly when referring to separate or periodic expenditures.
"The department's monthly spends increased sharply during the holiday season."
Spend is one of English's most flexible everyday verbs: the same word can describe money leaving a wallet and hours passing in the hands.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does spend come from?
Spend comes from Old English spendan, meaning “to spend” or “expend,” and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *spendōną. This root is related to German spenden and Dutch spenden. The family also includes words such as expend and expenditure, which reflect the same ancient root through the Latin expendere, literally “to weigh out.”
Related word forms
How spend is actually used
The verb is standard in formal and informal English. Its connotation depends on the context: spending money is neutral, while spending time can suggest attention or devotion, and squandering carries a stronger sense of wasteful use. The noun is common in business, budgeting, and financial reporting.