dispense

American  

[dih-spens] / dɪˈspɛns /

verb (used with object)

• dispenses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dispensed,
  past participle,  past
• dispensing
  present participle

1. to deal out; distribute.

   to dispense wisdom.

   Synonyms:

   dole, allot, apportion

2. to administer.

   to dispense the law without bias.

3. Pharmacology. to make up and distribute (medicine), especially on prescription.

4. Roman Catholic Church. to grant dispensation.

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verb (used without object)

• dispenses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dispensed,
  past participle,  past
• dispensing
  present participle

1. to grant dispensation.

noun

1. Obsolete. expenditure.

verb phrase

1. dispense with

   1. to do without; forgo.

      to dispense with preliminaries.

   2. to do away with; rid of.

   3. to grant exemption from a law or promise.

dispense British  

/ dɪˈspɛns /

verb

1. (tr) to give out or issue in portions

2. (tr) to prepare and distribute (medicine), esp on prescription

3. (tr) to administer (the law, etc)

4. to do away (with) or manage (without)

5. to grant a dispensation to (someone) from (some obligation of church law)

6. to exempt or excuse from a rule or obligation

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Usage

Dispense with is sometimes wrongly used where dispose of is meant: this task can be disposed of (not dispensed with ) quickly and easily

Synonym Usage

See distribute.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undispensed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• dispensing
  present
• dispensed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dispense
  simple
• dispenses
  simple
• have dispensed
  perfect
• has dispensed
  perfect
• am dispensing
  progressive
• are dispensing
  progressive
• is dispensing
  progressive
• have been dispensing
  perfect progressive
• has been dispensing
  perfect progressive

Past

• dispensed
  simple
• had dispensed
  perfect
• was dispensing
  progressive
• were dispensing
  progressive
• had been dispensing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dispense
  simple
• will have dispensed
  perfect
• will be dispensing
  progressive
• will have been dispensing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of dispense

1275–1325; Middle English dispensen < Medieval Latin dispēnsāre to pardon, exempt, Latin: to pay out, distribute, equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + pēnsāre, frequentative of pendere to weigh

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Explanation

To dispense means to give out or distribute something. A school nurse can dispense students' medication and we all can dispense advice. The word dispense comes from the Old French word dispenser, meaning "give out." You can dispense anything from hand sanitizer to dating advice. When dispense is paired with with it means "get rid of it" or "skip." If you dispense with traditional Thanksgiving dishes, you might instead celebrate with pizza, pancakes, tacos — anything but turkey and all the fixings.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dispense dispenses dispensed dispensing

She would attend meetings “to read scripts, write notes, and dispense mineral water.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

While two calm days have been most welcome after what we have witnessed in recent months, we do not want England to dispense with everything we saw under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes' Bazball regime.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

One of the FDA’s concerns is that the agency doesn’t have any information about the containers that would be used by compounding pharmacies to dispense the medication.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

"If we allow this to happen, no judge will be able to dispense justice," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

The willingness of a Wall Street investment bank to pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars to dispense investment advice to grown-ups remains a mystery to me to this day.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Let’s hope Judge Chuang dispenses with the Justice Department’s unjust prison demand and issues a suspended sentence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

The NHS pays pharmacies a fixed price for each medicine it dispenses.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026

In other places, the document dispenses with ambiguity altogether.

From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2025

Impersonating St. Nick, Taylor dispenses amusingly practical advice to children telling her what they want for Christmas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

There are several collections of wise sayings which not only do not reflect heroism at all, but give a view of life which dispenses with it.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Saum Poorsaleh, San Diego police public information officer, said his department had issued more than 50 citations at Sunset Cliffs and dispensed about 350 warnings, written and oral, since mid-June.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Its same-store sales growth of prepared food and dispensed beverages has exceeded those of Domino’s U.S. in 18 out of the last 20 quarters, according to data from Wells Fargo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

As the show’s host, Queen Latifah dispensed uplifting thoughts about American idealism throughout the evening but also got a slot of her own to do her classic “U.N.I.T.Y.” with help from a rambunctious drum line.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

Taylor also dispensed with tradition by not having any bridesmaids, while Travis similarly did not have groomsmen, her spokeswoman said.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

He did this, he knew; he dispensed with things, trying to be like other people — decisive, practical — only to discover he’d overdone it.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Long before Oz entered politics, for example, he’d been discredited for dispensing a vast array of scientifically unsound medical advice on “The Dr. Oz Show,” which Winfrey’s Harpo Productions co-produced.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

Matthews said until the Blythe prison site’s infrastructure is separated from neighboring Ironwood State Prison and its bond obligations are resolved, the property can’t move through the state’s process for dispensing with surplus property.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

At a centre called "Sniffspace", dogs test human samples on platforms equipped with automatic feeders dispensing dog treats.

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

By now, Russell was in the lead, having wasted little time dispensing with Gasly.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

The larder mistress brought her tray of loaves and savories, dispensing each.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

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Related Words

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