Whether you want to “spend time” with family or at work, it can be easy to overuse this phrase in your daily writing.
Fear not! Below, we’ve compiled a list of helpful alternative ways to say “spend time” that you can use when the original starts to feel worn out.
Spend Time Synonyms
- Dedicate time
- Spend my days
- Devote time
- Pass the time
- Hang out
- Hang around
- Frequent
- Dwell
- Hang around
- Kill time
- Waste time
- Keep company
- Rub elbows
- Fraternize
- Invest time
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The phrase “spend time” is perfectly correct and neutral enough to use in any circumstances.
- In particularly formal situations, you can use the phrase “dedicate time” instead of “spend time.”
- In an informal setting, you can say “spend my days.”
Stick around! In the next section, we’ll show you how to say “spend time” using different words. We’ll even supply some helpful examples!
Thereafter, we’ll discuss the correctness of the original phrase and whether it’s suitable for a professional setting.
Dedicate Time (Formal)
If you’re in a formal setting and looking for a fancy way to say “spend time,” we would recommend the phrase “dedicate time.”
The word “dedicate” creates connotations of commitment. This makes it a very useful phrase to use when you want to sound conscientious to your boss or a prospective employer.
In short, “dedicate time” is a more professional way to say “spend time” in a resume or job application.
Consider this snippet from a faux resume example to see what we mean:
On my days off, I dedicate time to charity work and community projects.
You can also use the phrase “dedicate time” in an email to a junior team member, a client, or a colleague.
This phrase will help you sound authoritative when you are issuing instructions.
Alternatively, it will make you sound more competent and sure of yourself than the original phrase.
Therefore, “dedicate time” is a slightly better phrase to use than “spend time” in a formal or professional setting.
Simply, it has a more serious and sophisticated tone.
Have a look at how you can use this formal synonym in an email example:
Dear Saphia,
It is essential that we dedicate time to building relationships with our clients.
As such, I expect to see you at the event tomorrow evening.
Sincerely,
Gladys
Spend My Days (Informal)
Another way to say “spend time” in a more casual setting is “spend my days.”
We usually use this phrase when we’re talking about spending time with someone outside of the office.
After all, work isn’t everything! And spending quality time with our loved ones is just as essential as spending time on our careers.
Here’s how you can use this synonym to talk about how you like to spend time with your family.
I like to spend my days building birdhouses with my daughter and visiting old churches with my wife.
Of course, you can also use this phrase when you want to spend time with friends or any other social group.
However, this phrase is also suitable to use in some professional situations. After all, you don’t have to be overly formal if you are speaking to colleagues you get along with.
Therefore, let’s see how you might use the phrase “spend my days” in a work email:
Dear Clyde,
I’ll send you a link to an editing software I use to make this process faster.
I used to spend my days rereading all my memorandums before I discovered it.
All the best,
Hamish
“Spend my days” is not a better phrase than “spend time.” However, it does come across as slightly more personal, since it uses the possessive pronoun, “my.”
Therefore, we would only recommend that you use it in friendly, inter-office work correspondence. It probably wouldn’t suit an email to a client or a superior.
Is It Correct to Say “Spend Time”?
It is perfectly correct to say “spend time” regardless of the situation you’re in.
This phrase is very plain and tonally neutral. Therefore, it would suit a formal or informal setting, depending on how you use it.
“Spend time” certainly doesn’t sound unprofessional. Therefore, you can definitely use it when issuing instructions to junior team members or even in a cover letter for a job you’re interested in.
In short, how this phrase will come across depends entirely on context.
Therefore, if you want to use the original phrase instead of one of the synonyms from our list, that’s perfectly acceptable.
Just be wary not to be too repetitive, especially in your work emails. It never hurts to mix up your phrasing from time to time using one of our alternatives!
So, if you think you might need another word for “spend time” in the future, go ahead and bookmark this page so that you can access our list any time you like!