spent

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "spent" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to indicate the use of time, money, or resources that have been exhausted or consumed. Example: "I spent all my savings on a new car."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

"Determining where this capital is spent needs to be an important issue for investors, otherwise there is going to be a lot of capital wasted in coming years on developing fossil fuel reserves that cannot be burned".

The Guardian

"But I look at people who have been in politics for five, 10, 15 years, and muck up, you see them muck up and think, 'You guys are supposed to be pro!' "People that have gone to Oxbridge, had thousands spent on their education, and I mean they are royally mucking up".

The Guardian - Sport

Families were asked to see what impact this had on their behaviour in the home and whether it changed the way they spent their time and interacted.

The Guardian

A total of £1.3m was spent on flights in 2013-14 and 2104-15 but £32m was spent on rail travel during that period.

The Guardian

He never saw combat and spent most of his military service as a guard in prisoner-of-war camps.

The Guardian - Arts

And then there was Tilda Swinton, who spent 15 hours in a vitrine at London's Serpentine Gallery in 1995, seemingly asleep.

The Guardian - Arts

A man already known for his chillaxing tendencies, Dave has spent much of the campaign going through the motions, as if he believed that by constantly repeating "competence or chaos" he would automatically be given back the keys to No 10.

The Guardian - Opinion

One of the company's leading lines, Casillero del Diablo, takes its name from the tale, although it seems unlikely that a 19th-century mining magnate and prominent politician would really have spent his evenings lurking in dank corners wearing fancy dress.

The Guardian - Travel

Piechowski and Bendera spent time in Ukraine before Piechowski returned to Poland, joining the partisan Polish Home Army and spending the rest of the war fighting the Nazis.

The Guardian

But Clancy has so far weathered congressional criticism, despite having spent only three of the past 30 years away from the agency while working as Comcast security chief in Philadelphia.

The Guardian

Seems he has spent most of the last eight weeks doing nothing but hitting chips.

The Guardian - Sport

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing financial resources, use "spent" to clearly indicate how money was used. For instance, "The budget was spent on research and development."

Common error

Avoid using the base form "spend" when the past participle is required. "I spend all day working" is incorrect; it should be "I spent all day working".

Linguistic Context

The word "spent" primarily functions as the past tense and past participle of the verb "spend". It indicates the action of using resources, such as time, money, or energy. As Ludwig AI suggests, it's a commonly used word in various contexts.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

100%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Science

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "spent" functions as the past tense and past participle of the verb "spend", denoting the utilization of resources such as time, money, or energy. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness and widespread use, primarily in contexts like News & Media. While alternatives like "utilized" or "consumed" exist, "spent" offers a versatile and generally applicable way to describe past actions involving the use of resources.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

utilized

Indicates a more formal and deliberate use of resources compared to "spent".

consumed

Focuses on the depletion aspect, often implying complete use or exhaustion of something.

devoted

Specifically refers to the allocation of time or effort to a particular purpose.

invested

Implies putting resources into something with the expectation of future benefit or return.

expended

Highlights the effort or energy exerted in completing a task or achieving a goal.

allocated

Refers to the assignment or distribution of resources for a specific purpose.

passed

Used when referring to the passage of time.

whiled away

Indicates a leisurely or unproductive way of spending time.

drained

Suggests the emptying or depletion of resources, often with negative connotations.

dissipated

Implies a wasteful or foolish way of using resources.

FAQs

How can I use the word "spent" in a sentence?

The word "spent" is the past tense and past participle of "spend". Use it to describe how time, money, or energy was used in the past. For example, "She "spent" her vacation in Italy" or "He "spent" all his savings on a new car".

What are some alternatives to the word "spent"?

Depending on the context, you can use alternatives like "used", "devoted", or "invested". For example, instead of "I "spent" the day reading", you could say "I "used" the day for reading".

Is it correct to say "I have spend" or "I have spent"?

The correct phrase is "I have "spent"". "Spent" is the past participle form of "spend" and should be used after auxiliary verbs like "have".

What is the difference between "spent" and "wasted"?

"Spent" simply indicates that something was used, while "wasted" implies that it was used ineffectively or without achieving a desired outcome. For example, "I "spent" money on groceries" is neutral, but "I "wasted" money on a useless gadget" implies the purchase was not beneficial.