v.
(past and past part. spent)
- pay out (money) in buying or hiring goods or services.
- use or use up (energy or resources); exhaust.
▸pass (time) in a specified way.
n.
informal an amount of money paid out.
Phrase
- spend a penny
Brit. euphemistic urinate.
[with ref. to coin-operated locks of public toilets.]
Derivative
- spendable adj.
- spender n.
Etymology
OE spendan, from L. expendere ‘pay out’; also a shortening of obs. dispend, from L. dispendere ‘pay out’.