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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

In other words, someone who exercises regularly but also spends many hours each day watching television still has additional risks for worse cognitive health because of their passive sedentary behavior.

— Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
Pizzini explained that because Carol spends so much of the story barricaded inside, the home was designed with an interior atrium to preserve natural light after the windows were shuttered.

— Deadline, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of spends

Verb

Higher follower counts and active social engagement attract major brand sponsors, even if a viewer consumes clips rather than full episodes.

— Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Murrill told lawmakers last year that defending the state against these claims consumes an enormous amount of time and resources and that the fund should be abolished altogether.

— Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of consumes

Verb

Every year, the Community Services District pays for engineer’s reports that outline each LLAD’s budget and calculate how the costs will be divided among property owners.

— Haley Parsley August 9, Sacbee.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Risk maps and early warning systems cost relatively little, and a storage park pays a dividend every dry day as ordinary public space.

— Ravi S. Bhalla, New York Daily News, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of pays

Verb

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
Watching this scene, and much of the film, exhausts me.

— Jenny Odell, Longreads, 2 June 2026

Definition of exhausts

Verb

Every square inch of land on Earth’s surface receives precipitation, and much of it drains out, eventually, to an ocean or lake.

— Natalie Wolchover, Quanta Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026
This can be in a low spot in your yard that always drains poorly, or under a roof awning or near a gutter that is likely to overflow.

— Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of drains

Verb

Costs have not hit consumers yet as the new government absorbs the difference for now.

— Ramy Inocencio, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026
The study also looked at the secondhand clothing market, specifically noting whether a country absorbs used textiles or exports them to other nations.

— Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 4 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 13 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of expends

verb

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