discharge
to relieve of a charge or load; unload: to discharge a ship.
to remove or send forth: They discharged the cargo at New York.
to fire or shoot (a firearm or missile): to discharge a gun.
to pour forth; emit: to discharge oil;to discharge a stream of invective.
to relieve oneself of (an obligation, burden, etc.).
to relieve of obligation, responsibility, etc.
to fulfill, perform, or execute (a duty, function, etc.).
to relieve or deprive of office, employment, etc.; dismiss from service.
to release, send away, or allow to go (often followed by from): The children were discharged early from school. They discharged him from prison.
to pay (a debt).
Law.
to release (a defendant, especially one under confinement).
to release (a person declared bankrupt) from former debts.
to cancel (a contract, debt, or other obligation).
to release (bail) back to the one who posted it.
(in a legislative body) to order (a committee) to cease further consideration of a bill so that it can be voted on.
Electricity. to rid (a battery, capacitor, etc.) of a charge of electricity.
Dyeing. to free from a dye, as by chemical bleaching.
to get rid of a burden or load.
to deliver a charge or load.
to pour forth.
to go off or fire, as a firearm or missile.
to blur or run, as a color or dye.
Electricity. to lose or give up a charge of electricity.
the act of discharging a ship, load, etc.
the act of firing a weapon, as an arrow by drawing and releasing the string of the bow, or a gun by exploding the charge of powder.
a sending or coming forth, as of water from a pipe; ejection; emission.
the rate or amount of such issue.
something sent forth or emitted.
a relieving, ridding, or getting rid of something of the nature of a charge.
Law.
an acquittal or exoneration.
an annulment, as of a court order.
the freeing of one held under legal process.
a relieving or being relieved of obligation or liability; fulfillment of an obligation.
the payment of a debt.
a release or dismissal, as from prison, an office, or employment.
a certificate of such a release or a certificate of release from obligation or liability.
the act or process of ordering a legislative committee to cease further consideration of a bill so that it can be voted on.
Military.
the separation of a person from military service.
a certificate of such separation.
Electricity.
the removal or transference of an electric charge, as by the conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy.
the equalization of a difference of potential, as between two terminals.
Origin of discharge
1synonym study For discharge
Other words for discharge
Other words from discharge
- dis·charge·a·ble, adjective
- dis·charg·er, noun
- non·dis·charg·ing, adjective, noun
- pre·dis·charge, noun
- pre·dis·charge, verb (used with object), pre·dis·charged, pre·dis·charg·ing.
- re·dis·charge, verb, re·dis·charged, re·dis·charg·ing.
- un·dis·charge·a·ble, adjective
Words Nearby discharge
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use discharge in a sentence
The spark that generated the blue jet may have been a special kind of short-range electric discharge inside the thundercloud, Neubert says.
Space station detectors found the source of weird ‘blue jet’ lightning | Maria Temming | January 21, 2021 | Science NewsAnd, in addition, in Wisconsin, we were able to link those data up to hospital admissions and discharge data so we got really detailed information about the kinds of injuries and the length of stays in hospitals and whatnot.
How Much Do We Really Care About Children? (Ep. 447) | Stephen J. Dubner | January 14, 2021 | FreakonomicsOscillating air discharge helps distribute cool air evenly throughout the space.
Best portable air conditioner: Cool off where you need it most | Eric Alt | December 17, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThe film shows that based in part on procedural action taken by Thompson at the hearing, Cammermyer’s attorneys were able to persuade a federal court judge to overturn the discharge, resulting in Cammermeyer’s reinstatement in the Army in 1994.
Film to mark 10th anniversary of ‘DADT ’repeal | Lou Chibbaro Jr. | December 9, 2020 | Washington BladeSARS-CoV-2 spreads mainly through respiratory droplets — spatters of virus-laden discharge from the mouth and nose, according to the World Health Organization.
COVID-19 infection lingers in the gut, even after it clears the respiratory system, researchers say | Claire Zillman, reporter | September 8, 2020 | Fortune
When you get the kind of discharge I had, they give you a suit and fifty dollars.
The Renegade: Robert Downey Sr. on His Classic Films, Son’s Battle with Drugs, and Bill Cosby | Marlow Stern | November 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut even as he was receiving awards, the military brass was processing his discharge—they had found out he was transgender.
Yes to LGB, No to T: The Pentagon Still Has a Transgender Ban | Tim Mak | October 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAfter an early discharge from the military, friends say Jordan Matson was searching for something.
The U.S. Veteran and Wisconsin Boy Who Went to Fight ISIS in Syria | Jacob Siegel | October 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe film begins with her on stage, with a joke that Robespierre wrote about feminine discharge.
Jenny Slate’s Earnest and Funny Abortion Film ‘Obvious Child’ | Caryn James | June 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Army court-martialed him, sentencing him to 30 days' confinement and a dishonorable discharge.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night | Nathan Bradley Bethea | June 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe reveillée of the sleeping Mexicans was the discharge of our two field-pieces loaded with canister.
On the 6th of March they met eleven Flemish ships, and they saluted each other by a discharge of cannon.
The discharge-valve was then opened for a moment, allowing a blast of steam to escape, reducing the pressure say to one-half.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickAfter one month, and within a year from the adjudication of bankruptcy, the bankrupt may apply for a discharge.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesIn tuberculous disease the tubercle bacillus is present in the discharge, but its detection offers some difficulties.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
British Dictionary definitions for discharge
(tr) to release or allow to go: the hospital discharged the patient
(tr) to dismiss from or relieve of duty, office, employment, etc
to fire or be fired, as a gun
to pour forth or cause to pour forth: the boil discharges pus
(tr) to remove (the cargo) from (a boat, etc); unload
(tr) to perform (the duties of) or meet (the demands of an office, obligation, etc): he discharged his responsibilities as mayor
(tr) to relieve oneself of (a responsibility, debt, etc)
(intr) physics
to lose or remove electric charge
to form an arc, spark, or corona in a gas
to take or supply electrical current from a cell or battery
(tr) law to release (a prisoner from custody, etc)
(tr) to remove dye from (a fabric), as by bleaching
(intr) (of a dye or colour) to blur or run
(tr) architect
to spread (weight) evenly over a supporting member
to relieve a member of (excess weight) by distribution of pressure
a person or thing that is discharged
dismissal or release from an office, job, institution, etc
the document certifying such release
the fulfilment of an obligation or release from a responsibility or liability: honourable discharge
the act of removing a load, as of cargo
a pouring forth of a fluid; emission
the act of firing a projectile
the volley, bullet, missile, etc, fired
law
a release, as of a person held under legal restraint
an annulment, as of a court order
physics
the act or process of removing or losing charge or of equalizing a potential difference
a transient or continuous conduction of electricity through a gas by the formation and movement of electrons and ions in an applied electric field
the volume of fluid flowing along a pipe or a channel in unit time
the output rate of a plant or piece of machinery, such as a pump
Derived forms of discharge
- dischargeable, adjective
- discharger, 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
Scientific definitions for discharge
[ dĭs-chärj′ ]
The conversion of chemical energy to electric energy within a storage battery.
A flow of electricity in a dielectric, especially in a rarefied gas.
A flowing out or pouring forth, as of a bodily fluid; emission or secretion.
A substance or material that is released, emitted, or excreted, especially from the body.
To undergo or cause the release of stored energy or electric charge, as from a battery or capacitor.
To release, emit, or excrete a substance, especially from the body.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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