1 (pay out) [+money] gastar By the end of the holiday I had spent all my lira
to spend sth on sth/sb gastar algo en algo/algn; she spends too much money on clothes gasta demasiado dinero en ropa; they've spent a fortune on the house (se) han gastado un dineral en la casa; the buildings need a lot spending on them a los edificios les hace falta una buena inyección de dinero
We've spent a fortune on buying new vehicles £10 million has been spent on improving homes on the estate
it's money well spent es dinero bien empleado
If the Government gave a more reasonable amount of benefit to those on the dole, it would be money well spent In terms of publicity, it is money well spent
to spend a penny (Britain) cambiar de agua al canario she was dying to spend a penny
2 (devote) [+effort, time] dedicar we spend time, money and effort training these people dedicamos tiempo, dinero y trabajo a formar a estas personas
This energy could be much better spent taking some positive action to spend time and energy doing sth She spends much time and energy pushing him in his career Britain has spent much time and energy calling together all those who could influence events in the warzone to spend time and energy on sth Do you spend all your time and energy on your baby, your partner and the house?
3 (pass) [+period of time] pasar where are you spending your holiday? ¿dónde vas a pasar las vacaciones?; he spent eight years learning his trade pasó ocho años aprendiendo los gajes del oficio; he spends all his time sleeping se pasa la vida durmiendo
he wanted to spend more time with his family you spend too much time watching television He said they needed to spend some time together he spent the summer in France what a way to spend a weekend! to spend the night together to have sex If a couple spend the night together, they sleep together. She was incredibly sympathetic about everything and we ended up spending the night together
4 (use up) [+force, ammunition, provisions] agotar the storm has spent its fury la tempestad ha agotado or perdido su fuerza
the rush of the first offensive soon spent its force
I spend all my energy just getting to work nada más que en llegar al trabajo se me van todas las energías; the bullets spent themselves among the trees las balas se desperdiciaron en los árboles
A wasteful volley was shot towards him, but the range was far too long and the balls spent themselves among the thick stalks
