Meanings
- humorousuncountableExcessive spending viewed as a medical disorder.
If you have spendicitis, put a padlock upon your purse, for it is better to starve to death than to live a spendthrift.
1904, Official Journal of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America, volume 18, page 4932 more examples
The way taxes, licenses and truck fees have been boosted in California the past year, it appears our representatives have been afflicted with a very bad case of spendicitis.
1949, We, the People: The Yearbook of Public Opinion, Paebar Company, page 174This can cause spendicitis. This disease warps your brain into thinking that if your credit card still clears a transaction, you'll probably have enough money to cover it . . . someday.
2006, Lyman Rose, Winning the War Againist Debt: Managing Your Personal Finances to Eliminate Debt, CFI, →ISBN, page ix
Origin
Blend of spend + appendicitis.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
spendicitis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spendicitis
“spendicitis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spendicitis. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spendicitis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spendicitis.
Source: spendicitis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.