spends

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of spend.

   The company spends millions on advertising each year.

   He spends every weekend fixing up the old house.

   Note

   The form a singular subject takes in the present: she spends, the city spends. It carries every use of the verb, so its object may be money, effort or time (spends an hour, spends his strength). The thing paid for or given to is introduced with on or upon. The verb can also stand with no object at all, as in she spends freely.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of spend.

   The marketing team compared their advertising spends across each region.

   Quarterly spends rose sharply after the new campaign launched.

   Note

   A plural that the noun often does without. Spend works both countably and uncountably, so a budget can report a single total spend just as easily as several separate spends. The plural earns its place when distinct outlays are set side by side, by region or by quarter. Mind the context: the same noun also names bodily discharge, and the identical spelling serves as the present-tense verb.

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