EXPENDING Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

expending

verb

present participle of expend

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

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

Verb

At 28 years old, the sizeable outlay on the Brazilian midfielder continues Arsenal’s ploy of spending big money on players who can immediately improve their first team.

— Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026
But that also means that a large number of folks who don't have so many assets might be better off spending their dollars on risk management and insurance.

— Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of spending

Verb

In the central English town of Stourbridge, where a huge blaze started Thursday, TV footage showed the fires consuming houses, with many left without roofs as flames burned inside the charred walls.

— Angela Charlton, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
He is forbidden from having any contact with the victim, possessing any guns, and from possessing or consuming drugs or alcohol.

— Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of consuming

Verb

Marks said the poor, women and people of color are paying the cost of cash bail with more than money.

— Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026
While the good-paying white-collar jobs in the ‘burbs are getting slashed, the substantial workforce Capital One inherited from Discover in the city of Chicago largely has been spared.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of paying

Verb

To deodorize and tackle slow-draining sinks, sprinkle a bit of baking soda down the drain before pouring a generous amount of apple cider vinegar.

— Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Aug. 2026
For best results, focus on giving your ficus well-draining soil and plenty of bright, partial light.

— Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of draining

Verb

The ruling involves 16 men's basketball players who sued the NCAA in Cobb County Superior Court in July after exhausting four seasons of college eligibility.

— Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
Countless veterans whom Perry had gotten to know had experienced similarly stark recoveries after exhausting conventional treatments for brain injuries and trauma, and turning to ibogaine.

— Michelle Lhooq, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of exhausting

Verb

Years of overuse combined with drought and rising temperatures have been depleting Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir.

— Ty O'Neil, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
That included the risk of dangerously depleting the number of defensive interceptor missiles available to the military’s Central Command, which is responsible for operations in the Middle East.

— Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026

Definition of depleting

Browse Nearby Words

expended

expending

expenditure

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“Expending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expending. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of expending

verb

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