expending

verb

present participle of expend
1
as in spending
to hand over or use up in payment redecoration will have to wait, since we've just expended our last dollar in buying the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in consuming
to make complete use of settlers had to be sure not to expend their supply of firewood before the end of the long winter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of expending Successful and aspiring Black professionals in many businesses will feel rightfully anxious, be expending critical cognitive efforts in reviewing their every turn. — Nancy Doyle, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 Removing spent flowers will prevent the plant from expending energy to form seed heads. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 17 July 2026 The next Starliner flight will haul cargo to the ISS, expending one of the remaining Atlas Vs. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 7 July 2026 The Cubs have already moved Colin Rea, Ben Brown and Javier Assad into their rotation for extended stretches, expending almost all of their depth. — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 17 June 2026 Smith receives limited federal grants, but battling the Education Department requires expending time, attention and money to a lawsuit rather than devoting those resources to student education. — Marie-Amelie George, The Conversation, 28 May 2026 Whether the lawsuit, filed for the city by the America First Policy Institute, is worth expending any of El Cajon’s time and resources on is far from clear. — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026 Because what the Knicks are seeing right now is a player expending so much on one end that there may not be enough left on the other — and a coaching staff still searching for ways to pull him out of it before the games start to matter more. — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026 With one missile – particularly one outfitted with cluster munitions – Iran can send millions of Israelis into bomb shelters and cause Israel and the US to continue expending a finite supply of costly missile interceptors. — Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expending
  1. spending
  2. consuming
  3. paying
  4. draining
  5. exhausting
  6. absorbing
  7. reducing
  8. depleting
Verb
  • Willy Kurniawan | Reuters Indonesia may have trouble meeting its economic-growth goals for the coming year, after spending 2026 on the defensive amid questions about fiscal outlays and the prospects of a downgrade from MSCI.
    — Celestine Iyer, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • For now, the Coalition for Prediction Markets is spending a fraction of Kalshi’s direct lobbying expenses.
    — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of spending
Verb
  • Studies have proven that regularly consuming whole grains has a positive effect on health, reducing certain markers that indicate chronic inflammation.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The cooking process greatly reduces that risk, as does storing the cooked garlic and oil at a temperature below 38° and consuming them within 2 weeks.
    — Jeremy Fox, Bon Appetit Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of consuming
Verb
  • That income limit is a cliff — earning a dollar over the limit generally means paying the full, unsubsidized premium.
    — Sarah Agostino, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Elsewhere in New York, Harry Styles was also among the musicians paying tribute to Parton on Wednesday.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of paying
Verb
  • Libra September 23 – October 22 The routine that keeps draining you may need a more compassionate rhythm.
    — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The law paved the way for thousands of victims to sue their abusers but has been criticized for draining the coffers of local governments.
    — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of draining
Verb
  • The everyday cost of war Six months of conflict and severe economic hardship have made daily life exhausting for regular Iranians.
    — Greg Myre, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
  • For Cameron, who spent decades exhausting HIV treatment options as his virus developed resistance, among the biggest benefits may be that the two-drug regimen effectively controls his virus while exposing him to fewer medications.
    — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of exhausting
Verb
  • Dark, light-absorbing particles turn into light-scattering particles, transforming dark, dense plumes into the milky white haze seen drifting across the eastern skies.
    — Michael A. Robinson, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Great at absorbing moisture while still preventing the growth of bacteria, these socks will dry quickly and minimize irritation.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of absorbing
Verb
  • According to a news release, the program will track attendance and behavioral data with the primary goals being to improve school attendance and student grades while potentially reducing psychiatric hospitalizations.
    — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • That could lower capital and operating costs while reducing safety risks during production.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • Authorities were wary of depleting China’s supply and someday becoming dependent on imports, as the country is for oil and gas.
    — GLORIA XIONG, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Persistent overuse combined with a record-dry winter and rising temperatures have been depleting both Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of depleting

Browse Nearby Words

expended
expending
expenditure
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Cite this Entry

“Expending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expending. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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