discharge

[ verb dis-chahrj; noun dis-chahrj, dis-chahrj ]

/ verb dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ; noun ˈdɪs tʃɑrdʒ, dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: discharge / discharged / discharging on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), dis·charged, dis·charg·ing.

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.

verb (used without object), dis·charged, dis·charg·ing.

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.

noun

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR discharge

1 unburden, disburden.

4 expel, eject, exude.

8 cashier, fire, remove.

9 dismiss, free.

10 settle, liquidate.

22 detonation, shooting.

28 execution, performance.

See synonyms for discharge on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of discharge

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English deschargen, from Anglo-French descharger, Old French, from Late Latin discarricāre, equivalent to dis- dis-¹ + carricāre “to load”; see charge

synonym study for discharge

6. See release. 7. See perform.

OTHER WORDS FROM discharge

dis·charge·a·ble, adjectivedis·charg·er, nounnon·dis·charg·ing, adjective, nounpre·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

discerning, discernment, discerptible, disc film, disc floret, discharge, discharged, dischargee, discharge lamp, discharge printing, discharge tube

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 News
And, 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|Freakonomics
Oscillating 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-Science
The 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 Blade

SARS-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|DAILY BEAST
But 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|DAILY BEAST
After 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|DAILY BEAST
The 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|DAILY BEAST
The 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|DAILY BEAST
The reveillée of the sleeping Mexicans was the discharge of our two field-pieces loaded with canister.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
On the 6th of March they met eleven Flemish ships, and they saluted each other by a discharge of cannon.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
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 Trevithick
After 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 Bolles
In 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

discharge

verb (dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ)

(tr) to release or allow to gothe 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 forththe 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

noun (ˈdɪstʃɑːdʒ, dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ)

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 liabilityhonourable 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, adjectivedischarger, 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

discharge

[ dĭs-chärj′ ]

Noun

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.

Verb

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.

discharge

OTHER WORDS FOR discharge

Origin of discharge

synonym study for discharge

OTHER WORDS FROM discharge

Words nearby discharge

Words related to discharge

How to use discharge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for discharge

Derived forms of discharge

Scientific definitions for discharge