squander

squander
squander 1580s (implied in squandering), "to spend recklessly or prodigiously," of unknown origin; Shakespeare used it 1593 in "Merchant of Venice" with a sense of "to be scattered over a wide area." Squander-bug, a British symbol of reckless extravagance and waste during war-time shortages, represented as a devilish insect, was introduced January 1943 by the National Savings Committee. In U.S., Louis Ludlow coined squanderlust (1935) for the tendency of government bureaucracies to spend much money.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • squander — squan‧der [ˈskwɒndə ǁ ˈskwɑːndər] verb [transitive] to spend money or use your time carelessly on things that are not useful: • The bank squandered $500 million playing the U.S. bond market. squander something on something • He squandered the… …   Financial and business terms

  • Squander — Squan der (skw[o^]n d[ e]r), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Squandered} ( d[ e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Squandering}.] [Cf. Scot. squatter to splash water about, to scatter, to squander, Prov. E. swatter, Dan. sqvatte, Sw. sqv[ a]tta to squirt, sqv[ a]ttra to …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • squander — [skwän′dər] vt. [prob. a specialized use of dial. squander, to scatter, popularized after Shakespeare s Merchant of Venice, I, iii, 22] to spend or use wastefully or extravagantly vi. to be wasteful or extravagant n. Rare a squandering;… …   English World dictionary

  • Squander — Squan der, n. The act of squandering; waste. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Squander — Squan der, v. i. 1. To spend lavishly; to be wasteful. [1913 Webster] They often squandered, but they never gave. Savage. [1913 Webster] 2. To wander at random; to scatter. [R.] [1913 Webster] The wise man s folly is anatomized Even by… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • squander — index consume, lose (be deprived of), misemploy, mishandle (mismanage), overdraw Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. B …   Law dictionary

  • squander — vb *waste, dissipate, fritter, consume Analogous words: *scatter, disperse, dissipate, dispel: *spend, expend, disburse …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • squander — [v] fritter away, use up be prodigal with, be wasteful, blow*, cash out*, consume, dissipate, expend, frivol, frivol away, go through, lavish, misspend, misuse, prodigalize, put out*, run through, scatter, spend, spend like water*, spring for*,… …   New thesaurus

  • squander — ► VERB ▪ waste in a reckless or foolish manner. ORIGIN of unknown origin …   English terms dictionary

  • squander — v. (D; tr.) to squander on (to squander a fortune on bad investments) * * * [ skwɒndə] (D; tr.) to squander on (to squander a fortune on bad investments) …   Combinatory dictionary

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