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Definition
use up (resources or materials)- The poorer a country's people are, the greater the temptation to deplete the country's forests and fisheries.
deplete = use up (resources or materials)
- Our bottles and skin are fairly full, but with two drinking and this hot sun it won't take long to deplete them.Suzanne Collins -- The Hunger Games
- It had become, in a very real way, a wealthy home, even though Morrie's bank account was rapidly depleting.Mitch Albom -- Tuesdays with Morrie
- This had depleted the treasury, but never mind, she could manage the reception herself right here at Marydell Road.Russell Baker -- Growing Up
- We're coated in flowers but our sacks are nearly depleted.Libba Bray -- Sweet Far Thing
- Siri accepted her depleted cup without commenting.Dan Simmons -- Hyperion
- Let's blame the Cold War and the hostage situation in Iran and the depletion of the ozone layer on Kemp.Stephen King -- Cujo
- The blessing of Mars faded, leaving him depleted.Rick Riordan -- The House of Hades
- A race of aliens that depleted their planet's resources in the quest for advancement, now doing the same thing here.Pittacus Lore -- I Am Number Four
- We've had that individual Quality in the past, exploited it as a natural resource without knowing it, and now it's just about depleted.Robert M. Pirsig -- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
- All we're really doing is depleting our small cache of food and waiting for...what?Suzanne Collins -- Mockingjay
- Cullivan, in appearance a cautious bank clerk with depleted hair and a face rather difficult to recall, agreed that outwardly he hadn't changed much.Truman Capote -- In Cold Blood
- We were depleted—emotionally, and by the numbers of those we'd lost—but grateful to be alive.Lisa See -- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
- Virgie worked for the very people that were out depleting the woods, Mr. Nesbitt's company.Eudora Welty -- The Golden Apples
- By the time the depleted regiment had again reached the first open space they were receiving a fast and merciless fire.Stephen Crane -- The Red Badge of Courage
- Bernard and Goretti grew bananas, cassava, potatoes, and beans on a depleted half-acre plot, but they barely earned enough to survive.Nicholas D. Kristof -- Half the Sky
- Depleted and alone in the fountain, Langdon half-expected to collapse.Dan Brown -- Angels & Demons
- We were sorely depleted already in trades of all kinds.Geraldine Brooks -- Year of Wonders
- It was very often used in armor-piercing ammunition, particularly when the material of choice, depleted uranium, wasn't available.David Baldacci -- Zero Day
- Virgie worked for the very people that were out depleting the woods, Mr. Nesbitt's company.Eudora Welty -- The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty
deplete = use up
depleting = being used up
(editor's note: The suffix "-tion", converts a verb into a noun that denotes the action or result of the verb. Typically, there is a slight change in the ending of the root verb, as in action, education, and observation.)