spend money — use money to buy things or pay for services
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcore
To pay money in order to buy something or pay for a service.
Say it like a native
Textbook I expended a considerable sum on the repairs.
Native I spent a fortune on the repairs.
'Spend money' is the everyday verb; 'expend a sum' is financial/formal.
Pattern: spend money (on something)
In use
- I try not to spend too much money on eating out.daily life
- In my opinion, it's important to spend money wisely, especially when you are a student and have a limited budget.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I spent much money on clothes.
✓ I spent a lot of money on clothes.
In positive statements use 'a lot of', not 'much'.
Common collocations
spend money on— on, a lot of, wisely, waste
Don't confuse it
Compare with 'save money', which means to keep money instead of using it.