spend

/spend/ verb (spent, spent)

Definition

› [I or T] to give money as a payment for something: How much did you spend?spend sth on sth We've just spent €1.9 million on improving our computer network. We've spent too much money on advertising that isn't working. We spent a fortune when we were in New York.

› [T] to use time doing something or being somewhere: spend time doing sth They need to spend more time improving customer relations.spend time on sth I spent a lot of time on that report. How long do you spend at the computer each day?spend years/ages I've spent years building up this company.spend a day/week/year, etc. We spent last weekend working.

› [T] to use energy, effort, force, etc., especially until there is no more left: For the past month he's been spending all his energy trying to find a job.

→ See also overspend verb, tax-and-spend, underspend verb

(Definition of spend verb from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)