as in spendthrift
someone who spends money freely or foolishly
he's a spender and she's a tightwad, so naturally they quarrel about money a lot
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 spender
Japan’s transformation into one of the world’s major defense spenders has developed over decades and raises the question of whether the ongoing buildup is a violation of its pacifist constitution.
—
Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025
Compared to pre-refresh, American Express saw double the number of new Amex Platinum acquisitions, record-high bookings on Amex Travel and roughly 2X more consumer Platinum spenders across Resy restaurants, Lululemon and Oura brands, according to American Express's Q3 2025 earnings presentation.
—Ryley Amond, CNBC, 26 Dec. 2025
Successive governments were able to spend money on welfare instead of defense, making the lives of ordinary Europeans much more comfortable, while relying on the United States, the world’s biggest military spender, to come to the rescue should the need arise.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
Fanatics has spent the last few years expanding into other fan economies—trading cards, memorabilia, betting—that create layers of rewards for its top spenders.
—Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 3 Dec. 2025
Saudi Arabia has recently become the largest military spender in the region, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
—MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
For the survey, Oxford Road polled 75 marketers on the buy side, including six of the top 10 spenders in podcasting.
—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
No longer a laggard, Germany last year became the fourth-largest military spender in the world.
—Kathleen Collins, Twin Cities, 26 Oct. 2025
In a deep dive on Academy’s customer file by trip frequency and average basket, Matuszewski forecasts that the top 10 percent of Academy spenders are poised to grow at an outsized rate.
—Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spender
Noun
-
Who believes that, with the U.S. Congress poring over Epstein's emails, there isn't still more appalling material about Andrew and his spendthrift ex-wife Fergie to be exposed?—
-
When measured by budget deficit – the gap between government spending and revenue – France is also among the most spendthrift in the European Union, according to Eurostat, the bloc’s statistics office.—
Noun
-
Show me exactly how to reorganize my day to focus on growth drivers first, which of my tasks are secretly time-wasters dressed as important work, and how to say no to everything else.—
-
For example, default settings for focus time added blocking of sites in the categories Shopping, Tabloids, and Time wasters.—
Noun
-
He was raised on Chicago’s North Side by a wastrel father and a mother who struggled to put food on their table.—
-
Ridley, traumatized by the cancer death of her mother and considered mostly a wastrel by those around her for pursuing a degree in the dread-inducing major of art history, knows a thing or two about the mythology behind these kindly rainbow-spewing creatures.—
Noun
-
Secrets are revealed, prodigals return, intolerances surface and family bonds are tested.—
-
The food today is extraordinarily good and prodigal.—
Cite this Entry
“Spender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spender. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
