disband
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disbands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disbanded,
past participle, past
-
disbanding
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
disbands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disbanded,
past participle, past
-
disbanding
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disbandsimple
-
disbandssimple
-
have disbandedperfect
-
has disbandedperfect
-
am disbandingprogressive
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are disbandingprogressive
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is disbandingprogressive
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have been disbandingperfect progressive
-
has been disbandingperfect progressive
Past
-
disbandedsimple
-
had disbandedperfect
-
was disbandingprogressive
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were disbandingprogressive
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had been disbandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disband
1585–95; < Middle French desbander, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + -bander, derivative of bande troop, band 1
Explanation
You know how rock bands are always forming and then breaking up? When they break up, they disband. The word disband refers to any group or unit of folks who decide to go their separate ways. Long before there were rock bands, groups of friends or warriors would band together for protection or companionship. They would become a band of sorts. The prefix dis comes from the Latin word for "apart." So if people come together to form a band — like Robin Hood's Merry Men — then if they disband, they decide to separate and break apart. Groups don't always disband because they want to. Sometimes police officers or government officials disband groups they believe are a nuisance or a threat.
Vocabulary lists containing disband
This Week in Words: August 13-18, 2017
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Nelson Mandela "I am Prepared to Die" (1964)
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
Last year the PKK announced plans to disband and disarm, following a call from its jailed founder and longtime leader Ocalan.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
Last month, the trust announced it was planning to disband and transfer all its schools to other trusts.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Rather than disband the Vermont Rainbow Coalition after the 1984 primary, they kept the group going, endorsing candidates in campaigns for the legislature and statewide office in each of the next three election cycles.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2026
In 1949, Down Beat magazine, long a champion, even urged him to disband.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
His Majesty had expressly ordered all such militia companies to disband.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
Such a rebuild may include the promotion of some of the club's best academy players, who stand to benefit if the first-team squad disbands.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Before the mayor disbands the SRG, I would urge him to check the facts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
It disbands a myriad of existing working groups and replaces them with a centralized system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024
The nine-member task force officially disbands Friday, but Democrat state Sen. Steven Bradford told the audience that the “final report is not the end of the work. It is really just the beginning.”
From Washington Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
For about four days," I said; "until the convention disbands.
From They Call Me Carpenter by Upton Sinclair
In yet another sign that the company is tightening its focus on commercial AI applications, Google disbanded its AlphaFold research team in July.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Tegna disbanded, its shareholders were paid and top Tegna executives exited.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
In 2024, the Royals were demoted from tier two to tier five after the club fell into financial difficulty, while the Addicks were disbanded entirely in 2007 after the men's team suffered relegation.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
David Koepp, who wrote the screenplay based on an original story by Spielberg, referenced real-life congressional testimony and reports from Project Blue Book, an Air Force program which investigated UFOs that was disbanded in 1969.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
“Since the Indianapolis experiment was disbanded, which was about eight years ago. I could have integrated into the greater population, outside the experiments, but that felt too overwhelming.”
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
Discovery is expected to close Tuesday, disbanding Warner’s corporate structure and retiring Warner investors at $31.17 a share.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
He announced the disbanding of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2025
In 2005, brothers Joseph and Jamie Adenuga were facing uncertainty in the wake of their rap crew disbanding.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025
The New York state party responded by disbanding its Young Republican group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
Chief Buthelezi called for the abolition of the Record of Understanding, the ending of CODESA, and the disbanding of Umkhonto we Sizwe.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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