frittering away
Spending on trifles
Frittering away is wasting something gradually through small, trivial expenditures—usually time or money.
The sense is of dissipation without purpose: He frittered away the afternoon scrolling through social media.
Unlike squandering, which suggests a single reckless act, frittering away implies death by a thousand cuts—resources lost in increments too small to notice until they're gone.
- misusingEmploying incorrectly or improperly
- squanderingReckless depletion of resources
- wastingUsing poorly, inefficiently
- dissipatingScattering and fading out
- going down the drainProgressively being wasted
profligacy · spending · nickel and diming · forfeiting · imprudence · gambling · burning daylight · dilly-dallying · running out the clock · aimlessness · spinning one's wheels · self-sabotage · depleting · procrastination · killing time · idling · twiddling thumbs · dawdling
frittering awaysaving
Reserving for future use
hoarding · conserving · investing · accumulating · preserving
frittering awaymaking the most of
leveraging · maximizing · investing · channeling · focusing