Apply
Apply verb - To occupy (oneself) diligently or with close attention.
Usage example: Sam applied himself to writing thank-you letters to everyone who'd helped sponsor him for the charity walk
Spend and apply are semantically related in application topic. In some cases you can use "Spend" instead a verb "Apply".
Spend
Spend verb - To hand over or use up in payment.
Apply and spend are semantically related in application topic. Sometimes you can use "Apply" instead a verb "Spend", if it concerns topics such as give.
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- Doesn't apply to people who live on a boat which serves as the home base for dozens or hundreds of occupants, or to those who just work on a boat owned by someone else, even if that's where they spend their nights (in a navy, as a pirate, on a cruise ship).
Source: Houseboat Hero -
This trope may also apply to the "Canadian Moment" gang, considering how much time they spend at the coffee shop.
Source: Radio / Royal Canadian Air Farce -
They spend all day finding trope examples for their favorite shows in order to make them look creative and Overdosed On Tropes, even when those tropes don't apply to that show at all.
Source: Darth Wiki / That Troper
Cite this Source
Spend and Apply. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/apply/spend
Apply & Spend. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/apply/spend>.
Spend or Apply. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/apply/spend.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "apply" and "spend" have occurred on timeline