How to Use spent in a Sentence

spent

adjective
Definition of spentnext
Synonyms for spentnext
  • By the summer of 2017, the Left Trolls were mostly a spent force.
    — Casey Newton, The Verge, 11 Aug. 2018
  • The spent blooms of red clover have crumbled to powder.
    — Owen Thomas, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Apr. 2021
  • The prophets of doom are right; the auto show is fast becoming a spent force.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2019
  • Just unscrew the bottom and dump out the spent coffee grounds.
    — Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 13 July 2023
  • Turns out back in the day, pancakes were often just a way to use up old, spent bread starter.
    — Julia O'Malley, Anchorage Daily News, 27 June 2018
  • The spent investor has no cash to invest in your business right now.
    — Jodie Cook, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2021
  • It’s most likely a spent stage from the Chinese rocket Chang’e-5.
    — Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 3 Mar. 2022
  • The 25-year-old spent parts of three seasons with Edmonton.
    — Star-Telegram, star-telegram.com, 1 July 2017
  • UTC, which last put up a research building in 1986, is quick to point out that the state money is well spent.
    — Stephen Singer, courant.com, 2 June 2017
  • Those bromeliads with spent blooms from the old plants decline and should be left in the ground or discarded.
    — Tom MacCubbin, orlandosentinel.com, 19 Dec. 2020
  • Choosing the wrong platform can be a big mistake in spent dollars and lost time.
    — Ketan Pandit, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2022
  • Once the weapon is fired, the belt moves through the machine gun, ejects the spent cartridge case, and a new cartridge is loaded into the weapon’s breech.
    — Matthew Moss, Popular Mechanics, 11 July 2023
  • The victim was found face-down on the ground, with blood covering his face and three spent casings next to his body.
    — Lori Higgins, Detroit Free Press, 14 July 2018
  • The air smells burnt, heavy with the stench of gunpowder and the propellant of spent munitions.
    — Claire Harbage, NPR, 4 Apr. 2024
  • These also carried mail, packages, as well as the cinders and ash from spent coal.
    — Susan Degrane, chicagotribune.com, 4 Nov. 2021
  • But the issue of debris has moved beyond spent rocket stages.
    — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 25 May 2022
  • Water lingers in pools below sheer cliffs and in glassy rivulets flush with spent cottonwood leaves.
    — Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 11 Feb. 2022
  • Candles placed in front of the sign were lit as police combed the street for spent shell casings and other evidence.
    — Fox News, 21 Sep. 2018
  • Spread seed from spent blooms on the garden bed for seed-eating birds and to germinate new zinnia plants.
    — Calvin Finch, ExpressNews.com, 4 June 2020
  • Not long ago, Merkel was considered a spent force, having announced that this would be her last term.
    — Katrin Bennhold, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Apr. 2020
  • It’s not unusual for spent surface-to-air missiles to wind up in gardens, fields or cities.
    — David Axe, Forbes, 11 July 2022
  • On the day of the crash, Burley and six other team members first spent hours gathering evidence from the crash site.
    — Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2018
  • Many are located along the coast, where the material from the spent pyrotechnics gets blown ashore and moved around.
    — Gary Robbins, latimes.com, 4 July 2018
  • Two deputies fired nine shots from Glock handguns and the third fired five rounds from an AR-15 rifle, according to Womble, based on spent shell casings.
    — Arkansas Online, 18 May 2021
  • Don’t cut its woody branches; only trim the spent green stems, which will encourage more pretty blooms.
    — Karen Hugg, Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2024
  • Family and friends spent days trying to contact Eastman, to no avail.
    — Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, 3 July 2018
  • There, police found blood and a spent bullet shell casing in White’s vehicle.
    — Molly Walsh | [email protected], cleveland, 17 July 2023
  • In the close quarters of a duck blind, or on some clay target ranges, an autoloader or pump shooter on your left will be pelting you with spent shells.
    — Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Dec. 2017
  • There, police found Swanagan’s body lying face down between two houses and three spent casings in the area.
    — Elliot Hughes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 June 2019
  • The water at issue was used to cool spent fuel rods and is being kept in a pool inside the nuclear power plant.
    — Mike Damiano, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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