disband

[dis-band]

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verb (used with object)

to break up or dissolve (an organization): They disbanded the corporation.

verb (used without object)

to disperse.

Nearby words

Origin of disband

1585–95; < Middle French desbander, equivalent to des- dis-¹ + -bander, derivative of bande troop, band¹

Related formsdis·band·ment, nounun·dis·band·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for disband

Odessa experts and politicians do not expect either camp to disband before the presidential elections in May.
Pro-Russian Militias Are Roaming Odessa|Anna Nemtsova|March 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libyan leaders promised to quickly to disband militias.
Libyan Government Turns to Ansar Al-Sharia Militia for Crime-Fighting Help|Jamie Dettmer|February 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Without jobs, it will be harder to persuade young men to give up their weapons and to disband their militias.
One Year Later, Libya’s Long Road Continues|Jamie Dettmer|October 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It will not be easy to persuade militias to disband with payback sentiments like those.
Libya Election Loser Mohammed Sawan’s Dangerous Words|Jamie Dettmer|July 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Without work, many militiamen will have little incentive to disband.
Libya Election Loser Mohammed Sawan’s Dangerous Words|Jamie Dettmer|July 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And now in thought we disband the little circle of five, to be reunited elsewhere after many years.
A Life of St. John for the Young|George Ludington Weed
They required of him that his faithful lieutenant should at once disband his forces and leave the country.
English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VII (of 8)|Various
Though the Indian trouble might by now be called adjusted, Bacon, far up the York, did not disband his men.
Pioneers of the Old South|Mary Johnston
Admiral Saisset had to disband the four men who remained to him.
History of the Commune of 1871|P. Lissagary
She asked them if she should disband the army, and there was a negative wail from one end of the land to the other.
Graustark|George Barr McCutcheon

British Dictionary definitions for disband

disband

verb

to cease to function or cause to stop functioning, as a unit, group, etc

Derived Formsdisbandment, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for disband

disband

1590s, from Middle French desbander (Modern French débander), in military sense, from des- (see dis-) + band (v.). Related: Disbanded; disbanding.

disband

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Nearby words

Origin of disband

Examples from the Web for disband

disband

verb

disband