INDEX:
to spend money
1. to use money to buy things
2. to spend a lot of money
3. to spend money quickly or carelessly
4. to spend less money
5. spending as little as possible
6. someone who spends a lot of money carelessly
7. someone who spends money carefully
8. someone who hates spending money
9. the amount that you spend
spend time
10. to spend time
11. to spend time working
12. to spend a period of time in a particular job or in prison
13. to use your time badly
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ PAY
↑ BUY
↑ COST
↑ CHEAP
↑ EXPENSIVE
↑ SHOP/STORE
↑ MONEY
↑ GENEROUS/NOT GENEROUS
◆◆◆
1. to use money to buy things
▷ spend /spend/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to use money to buy things :
▪ Everyone spends more at Christmas - it’s an important time for business.
▪ During the recession, even the tourists weren’t spending.
spend £5/$10/a dollar etc
▪ I bought two skirts and a T-shirt and I only spent $50.
spend on
▪ We spend about £85 a week on food.
▪ The government has promised to spend more money on education.
▪ She spends most of her salary on clothes.
spend money on doing something
▪ They spend quite a lot of money each week on eating out.
▷ pay /peɪ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to spend £5, $10 etc on something because that is what it costs :
▪ Of course you have to pay more if you want to travel in the summer.
▪ What quality accommodation you get depends on how much you’re prepared to pay.
pay for
▪ I like your new car - how much did you pay for it?
pay £5/$10/a dollar etc for
▪ They paid over $100 each for tickets.
▪ The set meal costs £15 but you have to pay extra for wine.
▷ pay out /ˌpeɪ ˈaʊt/ [intransitive/transitive phrasal verb]
to spend more money on something than you want to spend or more than you think is fair :
▪ £65! I don’t want to pay out that much!
pay out for
▪ You have to pay out so much money for car repairs these days.
pay out on
▪ The idea of paying out half my salary on rent didn’t sound too good.
pay out £5/$10 etc
▪ Did you know that Eddy paid out nearly £2000 for his new computer?
▷ give /gɪv/ [intransitive/transitive verb] informal
to pay a particular amount of money for something, especially when you are buying it from another person, so that the price is not fixed :
▪ ‘I don’t really want to spend that much.’ ‘OK, how much are you prepared to give?’
give for
▪ Did they give you the asking price for the house?
give (somebody) £5/$10 etc
▪ He said he’d give £40 for the painting, so I said yes.
▷ break into /ˈbreɪk ɪntuː/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to start spending an amount of money that you have saved or that you were keeping for a particular purpose before you really wanted to :
▪ We had to break into our savings to pay the hospital fees.
▪ I really want to avoid having to break into the money I was saving for college.
▷ pay good money for /ˌpeɪ gʊd ˈmʌni fɔːʳ/ [verb phrase] spoken
use this to talk about something you paid a reasonable price for, so you expect it to be of good quality or used properly so that your money has not been wasted :
▪ I paid good money for that tennis racquet and it broke the first time I used it.
▪ What’s the point of paying good money for a wedding dress when I’m only going to wear it once?
2. to spend a lot of money
▷ spend a lot /ˌspend ə ˈlɒtǁ-ˈlɑːt/ [verb phrase]
▪ You don’t have to spend a lot to be fashionable -- you just need a sense of style.
spend a lot on
▪ They must have spent a lot on their new kitchen. It’s made of solid oak
spend a lot of money
▪ In recent years the company has spent a lot of money on new technology.
▷ go to great expense /gəʊ tə ˌgreɪt ɪkˈspens/ [verb phrase]
to spend very large amounts of money on something important, even if it costs you more than you can afford :
▪ The wedding was wonderful. Your parents obviously went to great expense.
go to great expense to do something
▪ Please let us have your comments on the plans for the new offices -- we’re going to great expense to get everything just right.
▷ spare no expense /speəʳ ˌnəʊ ɪkˈspens/ [verb phrase]
to spend as much money as is necessary to get what you want or make something successful, without worrying about the cost :
▪ The organizers were told to spare no expense - this was going to be the biggest show on Earth.
no expense spared
▪ ‘Go out and buy whatever you want,’ he said, ‘no expense spared!’
▷ shell out/fork out /ˌʃel ˈaʊt, ˌfɔːʳk ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb] spoken informal
to have to spend more money on something than you think is fair or reasonable :
▪ No, we can’t afford to go to the bowling alley - I’ve forked out enough already today.
shell out #50/$100 etc
▪ Insurance companies are having to shell out millions of pounds to the victims of the floods.
shell out/fork out on
▪ I’m not shelling out any more money on this old car. It’s not worth it!
shell out/fork out for
▪ I failed my driving test and Dad said that he wasn’t forking out for any more lessons for me.
▷ go on a spending spree /ˌgəʊ ɒn ə ˈspendɪŋ ˌspriː/ [verb phrase] informal
to spend a lot of money and buy a lot of things in a short time for enjoyment, especially when other people think this is stupid or a waste of money :
▪ Jilly and I decided to cheer ourselves up and go on a spending spree.
▪ You haven’t been on another spending spree, have you? What did you buy this time?
▷ money is no object /ˌmʌni ɪz nəʊ ˈɒbdʒɪktǁ-ˈɑːb-/
use this to say that you do not care how much money you spend on something even if it is a lot :
▪ Simon always ordered the best. It was obvious that money was no object.
money no object
▪ Choose whatever outfit you want - money no object!
▷ live the high life /ˌlɪv ðə ˈhaɪ laɪf/ [verb phrase]
to enjoy yourself by going out often and spending a lot of money, especially with rich or important people :
▪ For several years they lived the high life with Hollywood stars and celebrities.
▪ You’ve been living the high life recently, haven’t you! You’re always going out to clubs and fancy restaurants.
3. to spend money quickly or carelessly
▷ squander /ˈskwɒndəʳǁˈskwɑːn-/ [transitive verb]
to spend all the money you have on unnecessary things instead of saving it or using it carefully :
▪ In less than three years he had squandered the entire family fortune.
▪ There was no money to pay the rent. They’d already squandered the little that they had.
squander on
▪ Here’s £50 but don’t just go and squander it on beer!
▷ blow /bləʊ/ [transitive verb] informal
to spend a lot of money on something expensive and enjoyable, especially something that you do not really need :
blow £50/$100 etc on something
▪ We blew $3000 on a trip to Barbados.
blow it all/blow the lot
British spend everything
▪ He won £500,000 in the National Lottery, but he’s already blown the lot.
▷ go through also get through something British /ˌgəʊ ˈθruː, ˌget ˈθruː something/ [transitive phrasal verb not in passive]
to spend the money that you have more quickly than expected, so that you have nothing left :
▪ I got through all of my money in less than a month and had to get my parents to send me more.
go through £100/$2000 etc
▪ The hotel was really expensive. We went through $3000 in the first week.
▷ spend money like water/like there’s no tomorrow /spend ˌmʌni laɪk ˈwɔːtəʳ, laɪk ðeəʳz ˌnəʊ təˈmɒrəʊǁ-ˈmɔː-/ [verb phrase] informal
to spend a lot of money very quickly and carelessly without worrying how much you are spending or how long your money will last :
▪ Richard spends money like there’s no tomorrow! Where does he get it all from?
▪ I don’t trust myself with a credit card - I spend money like water as it is.
4. to spend less money
▷ cut down /ˌkʌt ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive/transitive phrasal verb]
to reduce the amount of money that you regularly spend :
▪ We’ve had to cut down a lot since Craig lost his job - it’s been very hard for us.
cut down on
▪ She’s already cut down on going out and buying clothes, but she doesn’t have enough money to start paying off her debts.
cut down somebody’s expenses/bills etc
▪ The department has overspent this year and we will have to cut down our expenses.
▷ economize also economise British /ɪˈkɒnəmaɪzǁɪˈkɑː-/ [intransitive verb]
to spend less money by buying only the things that you really need, or by buying cheaper things :
▪ Sorry, I can’t come out tonight - I’m trying to economize.
▪ We’re economizing this year by having a cheaper vacation.
economize on
spend less money on something
▪ Families on low incomes are having to economize on food and heating costs.
▷ scrimp and save /ˌskrɪmp ən ˈseɪv/ [verb phrase]
to spend as little money as possible, only buying things you really need, because you have very little money and want to save it to use in the future :
▪ Chris’s parents scrimped and saved so that he could go to college.
▪ I had hardly any money left and was scrimping and saving just to buy the bare necessities.
▷ tighten your belt /ˌtaɪtn jɔːʳ ˈbelt/ [verb phrase]
to spend less money than you usually do because there is less money available :
▪ Most people have to tighten their belts a little when they retire.
▪ Governments and companies are forced to tighten their belts during a recession.
▷ budget /ˈbʌdʒɪt, ˈbʌdʒət/ [intransitive verb]
to carefully plan and control how much you spend :
▪ We’ll have to budget more carefully in the future. We’ve spent far more than we can afford.
budget for
▪ By the time I had budgeted for food and rent I only had a few pounds left.
5. spending as little as possible
▷ on a shoestring /ɒn ə ˈʃuːstrɪŋ/ [adverb]
if you make a film, run a business etc on a shoestring, you spend very little money on it, but it is usually a success :
▪ Nearly all of our research had to be conducted on a shoestring.
▪ The paper started on a shoestring, but soon had a circulation of over 100,000 readers.
shoestring [adjective only before noun]
using very little money: :
▪ a shoestring budget
▷ skimp on /ˈskɪmp ɒn/ [transitive phrasal verb not in passive]
to not spend enough money on important materials, equipment etc, so that what you are doing or making is unsuccessful or of bad quality :
▪ There’s no point in skimping on essentials such as food and heating.
▪ A company will never get anywhere by skimping on training and technology.
▷ on the cheap /ɒn ðə ˈtʃiːp/ [adverb] British
if you do or make something on the cheap, you spend as little money as possible on it, so that it is often unsuccessful or of bad quality :
▪ You only had to look at the houses to see that they’d been built on the cheap.
▪ It’s impossible to provide good nursing care on the cheap.
6. someone who spends a lot of money carelessly
▷ extravagant /ɪkˈstrævəgənt/ [adjective]
spending more money than you can afford on expensive things that you do not really need :
▪ $400 on a dress! That’s a bit extravagant, isn’t it?
▪ Rich and extravagant parents are spending more and more money on their children’s parties.
extravagantly [adverb]
▪ She put the money in to a savings account so she wasn’t tempted to spend it extravagantly.
▷ spendthrift /ˈspendˌθrɪft/ [countable noun] formal
someone who spends money carelessly even when they know that they do cannot afford to :
▪ I remember him as a charming but irresponsible spendthrift.
▪ She was by no means a spendthrift, but somehow all the money disappeared anyway.
▷ big spender /ˌbɪg ˈspendəʳ/ [countable noun]
a rich person who spends a lot of money, especially in order to impress other people :
▪ I didn’t trust him at all. He was a big spender, that’s all.
▪ This is the time of year when all the big spenders pour into Las Vegas hotels and casinos.
7. someone who spends money carefully
▷ thrifty /ˈθrɪfti/ [adjective]
spending money carefully and cleverly so that nothing is wasted and you can manage with the money you have :
▪ Mrs Jones was a very thrifty woman who never wasted anything.
▪ By being thrifty and shopping wisely you can feed an entire family on as little as $100 a week.
thrift [uncountable noun]
▪ The old values of thrift being thrifty and hard work seem to be things of the past.
▷ careful /ˈkeəʳf ə l/ [adjective not before noun]
spending money only on things that are necessary or cheap because you want your money to last as long as possible :
▪ I wouldn’t say he was mean -- he’s just careful.
careful with money
▪ Once you’ve spent your allowance there won’t be any more. You must learn to be more careful with money.
▷ economical /ˌekəˈnɒmɪk ə l, ˌiː-ǁ-ˈnɑː-/ [adjective]
spending money carefully and sensibly so that you do not spend more than necessary :
▪ I’m trying to be more economical when I go shopping, and only buying what I really need.
▪ Tim’s a very economical person,. He always looks around for the best buys.
economically [adverb]
▪ By shopping economically, you can save a lot of money on your weekly bill.
▷ frugal /ˈfruːg ə l/ [adjective]
spending as little money as possible, even on things that are necessary such as food and drink, especially because you are poor :
▪ He was very frugal, and would often use a tea bag three or four times over.
▪ The monks lead a frugal life, allowing themselves only the bare essentials.
frugally [adverb]
▪ We moved to a little house in the country and tried to live as frugally as possible.
8. someone who hates spending money
▷ stingy /ˈstɪndʒi/ [adjective]
not generous with your money, even though you are not poor :
▪ Don’t be so stingy! It’s your turn to buy me a drink.
▪ It’s no use asking him - he’s too stingy to give money to charity.
▷ mean /miːn/ [adjective] British
someone who is mean does not like spending money or sharing what they have with other people :
▪ Rick’s so mean he never even buys his wife a birthday present.
▪ My father was a mean old man who resented every penny he spent on us.
▷ cheap /tʃiːp/ [adjective] American, especially spoken
someone who is cheap does not like spending money, and always tries to avoid spending it :
▪ Uncle Matt was really cheap - he used to stay with us for weeks, and he never paid for anything.
▷ tight-fisted /ˌtaɪt ˈfɪstə̇d◂/ [adjective] informal
not generous with money - use this about people who annoy you because they have money but do not like spending it :
▪ He was known to have made a fortune on the stock market, but was nonetheless notoriously tight-fisted.
▷ miser /ˈmaɪzəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who hates spending money, and prefers to save as much as possible - use this especially about someone who has collected a lot of money by doing this :
▪ Mr Henny was a miser who had thousands of pounds hidden away under his bed.
9. the amount that you spend
▷ spending/expenditure /ˈspendɪŋ, ɪkˈspendɪtʃəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
the amount of money that is spent, especially by a government or other organization :
▪ The government intends to cut its expenditure by 10% next year.
public spending/expenditure
by a government
▪ The answer to inadequate health care is to increase public spending, not reduce it.
spending/expenditure on
▪ Company spending on staff benefits has been cut dramatically in recent years.
▷ costs /kɒstsǁkɔːsts/ [plural noun]
the money that a person or organization has to spend regularly on heating, rent, electricity etc :
▪ What are your annual fuel costs?
cut costs
reduce costs
▪ Falling sales have forced companies to cut costs.
running costs
the cost of owning and using something
▪ I’m looking for a car with low running costs.
▷ outlay /ˈaʊtleɪ/ [singular noun]
the amount of money that someone must spend when they first start a new business or activity :
▪ The best business is one with a small outlay and with no risk involved.
outlay on
▪ When we built the factory the outlay on machinery was heavy but we were able to buy all the latest equipment.
initial outlay
outlay in the beginning
▪ T- shirts are easy to produce, requiring little initial outlay and a minimum of time and effort.
▷ outgoings /ˈaʊtˌgəʊɪŋz/ [plural noun]
the amount of money that someone has to spend regularly on rent, bills, food etc for their home or business :
▪ The outgoings on a house this size are very high.
▪ I wrote a check for $200 to cover various outgoings.
▷ overheads British /overhead American /ˈəʊvəʳhed(z)/ []
the amount of money that a company or a business person has to spend on rent, their workers’ pay, office furniture etc :
▪ The cost of the movie was high because of the large production overhead.
▪ The company’s overheads were much lower this year owing to the closure of several offices nationwide.
▪ Restaurant prices have been put up to cover the ever-increasing overheads.
▷ expenses /ɪkˈspensɪz, ɪkˈspensəz/ [plural noun]
the money that you spend on things that you need, for example on food, rent, and travel :
▪ John and Rachel have a new baby, so they have a lot of expenses right now.
travel/living/medical etc expenses
▪ Living expenses are much higher in London.
▪ The company doesn’t pay my travel expenses.
▷ budget /ˈbʌdʒɪt, ˈbʌdʒət/ [countable noun usually singular]
the amount of money that you have planned to spend or that is available to spend on a particular thing :
▪ You can choose any type of wood for your furniture, according to your budget.
▪ Government cuts in the defence budget have meant a loss of 2000 jobs.
10. to spend time
▷ spend /spend/ [transitive verb]
to spend time somewhere, with someone, or doing something :
spend time
▪ I never seem to have any time to spend with the children.
spend an hour/two days/a week etc
▪ Dani spends hours on the phone.
spend an hour/two days/a week etc doing something
▪ Fay spent a year in Italy teaching English.
▪ He spent the whole morning reading the report.
▷ pass the time /ˌpɑːs ðə ˈtaɪmǁˌpæs-/ [verb phrase]
to spend time doing something unimportant, because you have nothing else to do :
▪ I started doing a crossword to pass the time .
pass the time doing something
▪ The security guards used to pass their time playing cards.
▷ kill /kɪl/ [transitive verb]
kill time/a couple of hours etc
informal
to do something in order to make time seem to pass more quickly while you are waiting for something :
▪ I was early, so I sat in a café, killing time.
▪ The train doesn’t leave till two, so we have a couple of hours to kill.
▷ busy yourself /ˈbɪzi jɔːʳself/ [verb phrase]
to keep yourself busy doing things, especially because you cannot think of anything else to do or to stop yourself from getting bored :
busy yourself doing something
▪ Martin sat down nervously and busied himself rearranging the papers on his desk.
busy yourself with
▪ Mrs Smithers pottered about busying herself with light household tasks.
▷ hang out /ˌhæŋ ˈaʊt/ [intransitive phrasal verb] informal
to often spend a lot of your time in a particular place or with a particular person or group :
▪ You’ll probably find Dave at the pool hall -- he often hangs out there.
hang out with
▪ I used to hang out with them when I was at college.
11. to spend time working
▷ put in /ˌpʊt ˈɪn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
▪ She usually ends up putting in several extra hours work at weekends.
▪ When I’m preparing for a tournament I put in thirty or forty hours of training a week.
▷ devote /dɪˈvəʊt/ [transitive verb]
to spend a long time working hard at a particular thing, especially something important :
▪ He’s decided to give up racing and devote all his time to his farm in Ireland.
▪ She intends to devote the next ten years to her charitable work.
12. to spend a period of time in a particular job or in prison
▷ serve /sɜːʳv/ [transitive verb]
▪ Reagan was serving his second term as President at the time.
▪ Smith has already served a ten-year sentence for armed robbery.
▷ do /duː/ [transitive verb] informal
to spend a long time doing a difficult job or doing something that you are forced to do :
▪ As a young teacher she did two years in one of the city’s toughest schools.
do time
▪ I did my time in the army like everyone else.
13. to use your time badly
▷ waste /weɪst/ [transitive verb]
to use your time badly, by doing nothing or by doing something that is not useful :
▪ Stop wasting time. We have to finish this today.
▪ I must have wasted two hours trying to fix my car.
▪ Now she feels she’s wasted her life.
▷ lose /luːz/ [transitive verb\]
to not use your time for what you intended, for example because of delays, interruptions etc :
▪ While you’re talking, we’re losing valuable time.
▪ The work is already behind schedule. The firm’s lost at least 45 days through staff illness.