EXPENDS Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

expends

verb

present tense third-person singular of expend

as in spends

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

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as in consumes

to make complete use of settlers had to be sure not to expend their supply of firewood before the end of the long winter

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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 expends If the stalk is left alone, the plant expends energy creating seeds instead of new blooms. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2026 This spiritual sequel to ‘Frankenstein’ is a romantic tale of obsession, possession and fantasy — adjectives that also apply to its filmmaker, Maggie Gyllenhaal, who expends massive quantities of energy jolting it to life. — Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026 This upper stage of the rocket kicks in above 62 miles (100 kilometers), once the core stage expends all its propellant. — Marcos Fernandez Tous, The Conversation, 4 Mar. 2026 The familiarity expends to the animation itself, courtesy of the prolific Titmouse studio. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 20 Feb. 2026 Targeting multiple muscle groups expends calories more efficiently. — Jakob Roze, Health, 5 Feb. 2026 Virtually every cell on every branch of the tree of life expends a hefty chunk of its energy budget — in some cells, more than half — on maintaining a voltage across its membrane. — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 12 Jan. 2026 The places facing existential climate risks—especially those in the Deep South—are mostly in states that have long been considered politically uncompetitive, where neither party expends much effort or money to gain votes. — Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025 China’s apparent surge in missile production comes as the US expends sophisticated defense systems in Ukraine and Israel, causing some ammunition shortages and sparking debate in Washington about how and where to deploy its high-end weapons. — Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for expends

Verb

Gray is central to the investment calls Blackstone makes, and spends his weekends reading memos on potential deals in preparation for his weekly investment committee meetings.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Our roads get a D+ by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which found Colorado spends 35% more on car repairs than the national average.

— Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of spends

Verb

That figure assumes the vehicle consumes 100 watt-hours per mile and its solar panels deliver at least four kWh of usable energy to the battery during the day.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
Many facilities use evaporative cooling, which consumes water to remove server heat.

— Mark Drapeau, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of consumes

Verb

The government created a national preventive care program decades ago and gave every citizen a right to regular checkups, which gave clinics a reason to buy expensive machines, which brought the volume that pays for the expensive machines.

— Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
The Avon Historical Society pays the liability for the inside of the building and the structural repairs, like the roof, are the town’s responsibility.

— Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of pays

Verb

If a bureaucratic process exhausts whatever time a citizen has available, then benefits are lost or rights are denied.

— Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026
That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 July 2026

Definition of exhausts

Verb

Once the cycle is complete, the dirty water drains away and you’re left with clean, wet clothing.

— Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 21 Aug. 2026
Defensiveness extends conversations, weakens credibility and drains emotional energy that could have been directed toward solving problems.

— Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of drains

Verb

This outer layer absorbs physical stress directly, protecting the delicate internal materials from bending or cracking under load.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026
As Altman absorbs the public’s fears and frustrations over AI, the company has recently sought to elevate Brockman’s profile as a counterweight.

— Alex Heath, Time, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of absorbs

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expenditures

expends

expense

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

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Synonyms of expends

verb

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