distribute
Americanverb (used with object)
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to divide and give out in shares; deal out; allot.
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to disperse through a space or over an area; spread; scatter.
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to promote, sell, and ship or deliver (an item or line of merchandise) to individual customers, especially in a specified region or area.
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to pass out or deliver (mail, newspapers, etc.) to intended recipients.
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to divide into distinct phases.
The process was distributed into three stages.
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to divide into classes.
These plants are distributed into 22 classes.
- Synonyms:
- categorize, arrange, sort, classify
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Logic. to employ (a term) in a proposition so as to refer to all individuals denoted by the term.
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Physical Chemistry. to dissolve uniformly in a solvent consisting of layers of immiscible or partially miscible substances.
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Printing.
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to roll out (ink) on the table to attain the proper consistency.
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to return (type) to the proper place after printing.
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verb
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to give out in shares; dispense
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to hand out or deliver
to distribute handbills
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(often passive) to spread throughout a space or area
gulls are distributed along the west coast
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(often passive) to divide into classes or categories; classify
these books are distributed in four main categories
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printing to return (used type) to the correct positions in the type case
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logic to incorporate in a distributed term of a categorial proposition
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maths logic to expand an expression containing two operators in such a way that the precedence of the operators is changed; for example, distributing multiplication over addition in a ( b + c ) yields ab + ac
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obsolete to dispense (justice)
Synonym Usage
Distribute, dispense apply to giving out something. Distribute implies apportioned, individualized giving, especially of something that is definite or limited in amount or number: The prizes were distributed among ten winners. Dispense formerly implied indiscriminate, general, and liberal giving, especially of something that was more or less indefinite or unmeasured in amount: to dispense largesse. It now applies chiefly to giving according to need or deserts, from an organized and official source: to dispense medicines and food to the victims.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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distributesimple
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distributessimple
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have distributedperfect
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has distributedperfect
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am distributingprogressive
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are distributingprogressive
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is distributingprogressive
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have been distributingperfect progressive
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has been distributingperfect progressive
Past
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distributedsimple
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had distributedperfect
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was distributingprogressive
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were distributingprogressive
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had been distributingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of distribute
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin distribūtus, past participle of distribuere “to divide up”; see dis- 1, tribute
Explanation
To distribute is to disperse widely, hand out, or spread around. While you're still snoozing, the paper boy is busy distributing the newspaper all over the neighborhood. This verb was first recorded in the early 15th century and has its roots in the Latin distributus, meaning “to divide.” Think of dividing up the last cookies in the cookie jar and passing them out to all your friends. Distribute can also mean to space out or arrange in a particular order — you'd want to distribute the chairs in even lines across the floor when setting up for a concert, for example.
Vocabulary lists containing distribute
Charlotte's Web
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Workshop 1, Part 1
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"We distribute everything, giving people whatever they want," Singh said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Those with aggregate balances of more than $20 million could have to distribute as much as the entire excess balance from their Roth IRAs and the Roth portion of their defined-contribution plans.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
For example, the simulations did not account for cartilage, the flexible tissue that cushions joints and can help absorb and distribute stress.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
The company has traditionally employed its own drivers to distribute its doughnuts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
“We need to fill all four baskets,” said the smaller man, “and then distribute a flower to everyone in the Old Town.”
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
Soccer takes a 20% cut, and then distributes all World Cup prize money equally among 52 players — 26 players on the roster of each team.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The stuntmen are presumably here because their parent company, Thrill Sports, also distributes Power Slap, Dana White’s passion project.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the brokerage in years past had to plead with issuers to set aside stock for the company’s IPO Access program, which distributes allocated retail shares at random to interested customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The firm has similar restrictions for all IPO shares it distributes.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
This suggested that phosphorus would be a better carrier of therapeutic radiation than radio-sodium, since the latter distributes itself all through the body as salt, attenuating its effect.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Inside the Villaviciosa de Odon gymnasium, volunteers tried to keep children occupied with games and colouring activities, while others distributed meals after the evacuees had spent their first night sleeping on cots.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
By the first week of June, images distributed by Airbus showed crews had repaired road damage, and trucks visible on satellite images were clearing dirt and reopening collapsed tunnel entrances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
In New Orleans, sandbags are being distributed to stave off flood waters.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
In other words, the Universe can contain more entropy overall while entropy becomes more widely distributed across expanding space.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Corn, their staple crop, was stored in granaries and distributed equitably by clan mothers, the oldest woman from each extended family.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Considering he talks about the size of the triangles his teammates form on the pitch when he’s distributing the ball, Harvard made plenty of sense for Freese.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
“And we were just distributing roles based on what we thought everyone’s strengths were. My role was supposed to be the CEO, since I did a lot of lab management.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026
"Across popular neighbourhoods, organisations and local groups are distributing kits that include televisions and solar-powered inverter systems to help residents follow the tournament."
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
In addition, distributing money to Americans from any deals “would really take an act of Congress,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026
Several months later saw the return of Francisco the Man, an ancient vagabond who was almost two hundred years old and who frequently passed through Macondo distributing songs that he composed himself.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
