expending

Expending is the act of using up resources such as time, money, or energy. The term emphasizes the depletion of something through effort or cost, rather than simply holding or reserving it. It is often used interchangeably with spending or consuming in everyday language, but can carry a more deliberate or physical connotation.

Etymology: from Latin expendere, meaning to weigh out or pay out, formed by ex- “out” and pendere “to weigh,” later extended to meanings of spend or expend resources.

In physiology, energy expenditure refers to the amount of energy the body uses to maintain basic functions and activities. It is commonly measured in calories or joules and includes basal metabolic rate, thermic effect of food, and activity thermogenesis.

In physics, energy expended or work done by a force is the energy transferred to move an object; in thermodynamics and biology, expended energy can appear as kinetic energy, heat, or stored chemical energy.

In economics and everyday finance, expenditures denote resources spent on goods and services; budgeting uses expenditures as a key element; conversely, expending generally implies the act itself, often in the context of constrained resources or purposeful investment, whereas saving or investing addresses holding or growing resources.