as in to spend
to use up carelessly
warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 misspend
Members of a celebrated Florida State Guard unit have taken to social media to allege the organization’s director used state planes to practice flying and misspent millions of dollars.
—
Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Visit our website Between 2016 and 2020, Mississippi organizations that received TANF funding to conduct things like workforce development and teen pregnancy prevention misspent or stole at least $77 million.
—Bryce Covert, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2026
An audit report released in October found that a manager with Austin Water misspent $78,000 to pay contractors for unauthorized services.
—Chaya Tong, Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
There are literally a million better ways to stop food waste than partnering with a family that has been convicted of felonies for misspending nonprofit money.
—Emily Barnes, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Visit our website Between 2016 and 2020, Mississippi organizations that received TANF funding to conduct things like workforce development and teen pregnancy prevention misspent or stole at least $77 million.
—Bryce Covert, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2026
An audit report released in October found that a manager with Austin Water misspent $78,000 to pay contractors for unauthorized services.
—Chaya Tong, Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
There are literally a million better ways to stop food waste than partnering with a family that has been convicted of felonies for misspending nonprofit money.
—Emily Barnes, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspend
Verb
-
Roony has spent the season in Yamal’s shadow, making just eight starts.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
And its matches total state dollars spent at the time on Medicaid, Goodman noted.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Educators were fired for making insensitive comments about him on their personal social-media accounts; a firefighter in Toledo lost his job for posting a derisive eulogy on Facebook; various airline employees were suspended for disparaging Kirk online.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Gray added that both players agreed to lose the game in exchange for $10,000 to $15,000 in payments each.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misspend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspend. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
