discharge

American  

[dis-chahrj, dis-chahrj, dis-chahrj] / dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ, ˈdɪs tʃɑrdʒ, dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ /

verb (used with object)

• discharges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• discharged,
  past participle,  past
• discharging
  present participle

1. to relieve of a charge or load; unload.

   to discharge a ship.

   Synonyms:

   disburden, unburden

2. to remove or send forth.

   They discharged the cargo at New York.

3. to fire or shoot (a firearm or missile).

   to discharge a gun.

4. to pour forth; emit.

   to discharge oil;

   to discharge a stream of invective.

   Synonyms:

   exude, eject, expel

5. to relieve oneself of (an obligation, burden, etc.).

6. to relieve of obligation, responsibility, etc.

7. to fulfill, perform, or execute (a duty, function, etc.).

8. to relieve or deprive of office, employment, etc.; dismiss from service.

   Synonyms:

   remove, fire, cashier

9. to release, send away, or allow to go (often followed byfrom ).

   The children were discharged early from school. They discharged him from prison.

   Synonyms:

   free, dismiss

10. to pay (a debt).

    Synonyms:

    liquidate, settle

11. Law.

    1. to release (a defendant, especially one under confinement).

    2. to release (a person declared bankrupt) from former debts.

    3. to cancel (a contract, debt, or other obligation).

    4. to release (bail) back to the one who posted it.

12. (in a legislative body) to order (a committee) to cease further consideration of a bill so that it can be voted on.

13. Electricity. to rid (a battery, capacitor, etc.) of a charge of electricity.

14. Dyeing. to free from a dye, as by chemical bleaching.

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verb (used without object)

• discharges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• discharged,
  past participle,  past
• discharging
  present participle

1. to get rid of a burden or load.

2. to deliver a charge or load.

3. to pour forth.

4. to go off or fire, as a firearm or missile.

5. to blur or run, as a color or dye.

6. Electricity. to lose or give up a charge of electricity.

noun

• discharges
  plural

1. the act of discharging a ship, load, etc.

2. 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.

   Synonyms:

   detonation

3. a sending or coming forth, as of water from a pipe; ejection; emission.

4. the rate or amount of such issue.

5. something sent forth or emitted.

6. a relieving, ridding, or getting rid of something of the nature of a charge.

7. Law.

   1. an acquittal or exoneration.

   2. an annulment, as of a court order.

   3. the freeing of one held under legal process.

8. a relieving or being relieved of obligation or liability; fulfillment of an obligation.

   Synonyms:

   performance, execution

9. the payment of a debt.

10. a release or dismissal, as from prison, an office, or employment.

11. a certificate of such a release or a certificate of release from obligation or liability.

12. the act or process of ordering a legislative committee to cease further consideration of a bill so that it can be voted on.

13. Military.

    1. the separation of a person from military service.

    2. a certificate of such separation.

14. Electricity.

    1. the removal or transference of an electric charge, as by the conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy.

    2. the equalization of a difference of potential, as between two terminals.

discharge British  

verb

1. (tr) to release or allow to go

   the hospital discharged the patient

2. (tr) to dismiss from or relieve of duty, office, employment, etc

3. to fire or be fired, as a gun

4. to pour forth or cause to pour forth

   the boil discharges pus

5. (tr) to remove (the cargo) from (a boat, etc); unload

6. (tr) to perform (the duties of) or meet (the demands of an office, obligation, etc)

   he discharged his responsibilities as mayor

7. (tr) to relieve oneself of (a responsibility, debt, etc)

8. (intr) physics

   1. to lose or remove electric charge

   2. to form an arc, spark, or corona in a gas

   3. to take or supply electrical current from a cell or battery

9. (tr) law to release (a prisoner from custody, etc)

10. (tr) to remove dye from (a fabric), as by bleaching

11. (intr) (of a dye or colour) to blur or run

12. (tr) architect

    1. to spread (weight) evenly over a supporting member

    2. to relieve a member of (excess weight) by distribution of pressure

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noun

1. a person or thing that is discharged

2. 1. dismissal or release from an office, job, institution, etc

   2. the document certifying such release

3. the fulfilment of an obligation or release from a responsibility or liability

   honourable discharge

4. the act of removing a load, as of cargo

5. a pouring forth of a fluid; emission

6. 1. the act of firing a projectile

   2. the volley, bullet, missile, etc, fired

7. law

   1. a release, as of a person held under legal restraint

   2. an annulment, as of a court order

8. physics

   1. the act or process of removing or losing charge or of equalizing a potential difference

   2. a transient or continuous conduction of electricity through a gas by the formation and movement of electrons and ions in an applied electric field

9. 1. the volume of fluid flowing along a pipe or a channel in unit time

   2. the output rate of a plant or piece of machinery, such as a pump

discharge Scientific  

/ dĭs-chärj′ /

1. The conversion of chemical energy to electric energy within a storage battery.

2. A flow of electricity in a dielectric, especially in a rarefied gas.

3. A flowing out or pouring forth, as of a bodily fluid; emission or secretion.

4. A substance or material that is released, emitted, or excreted, especially from the body.

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1. To undergo or cause the release of stored energy or electric charge, as from a battery or capacitor.

2. To release, emit, or excrete a substance, especially from the body.

Synonym Usage

See release. See perform.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• discharger
  noun
• predischarge
  noun
• redischarge
  verb
• predischarge
  verb (used with object)
• dischargeable
  adjective
• nondischarging
  adjective
• undischargeable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• discharges
  plural

Participles

• discharging
  present
• discharged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• discharge
  simple
• discharges
  simple
• have discharged
  perfect
• has discharged
  perfect
• am discharging
  progressive
• are discharging
  progressive
• is discharging
  progressive
• have been discharging
  perfect progressive
• has been discharging
  perfect progressive

Past

• discharged
  simple
• had discharged
  perfect
• was discharging
  progressive
• were discharging
  progressive
• had been discharging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will discharge
  simple
• will have discharged
  perfect
• will be discharging
  progressive
• will have been discharging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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

Explanation

To discharge is to fire a gun or an employee, or to set someone free from a hospital or jail. You'd probably like being discharged from jail, but not from your job, unless you really hate it. As a verb, discharge is “to release,” and as a noun, it refers to the act of or setting free. You'd be discharged from the hospital once the discharge from your wound has stopped. Ew. The writer Ambrose Bierce jokingly defined emotion as "a prostrating disease caused by a determination of the heart to the head. It is sometimes accompanied by a copious discharge of hydrated chloride of sodium from the eyes.” Wouldn't want to cry in front of that guy!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

discharge discharges discharged discharging

The ICC said it would not be deterred by the U.S. sanctions and will continue to fully discharge its mandate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

“He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out, his 13-year-old career is ruined, just like that,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

NHS medical records can contain highly sensitive personal information, ranging from test results and hospital discharge summaries to details of prescriptions and medications.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Now, nearly two years after the most recent discharge was announced, borrowers say they can’t escape the last vestige of this debt: It still appears on their credit reports.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

“Adam? It’s great just being here with you, sitting in the cold near a discharge facility, but do you think we could go over to Courtney’s house? Hmm, Ads?”

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

The lawsuit claims that the Education Department gave servicers instructions, known as a change request, on how to process these group loan discharges, including deleting credit trade lines.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

Along with friction and chemical reactions, tiny electrical discharges from charged droplets may also play a role in how coatings break down over time.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

The number and rate of layoffs and discharges were little changed at 1.7 million and 1%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Welsh Water is also one of the defendants in an ongoing civil case over pollution in the River Wye, where residents and businesses allege sewage discharges contributed to environmental damage.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

The doctor finally discharges Alan after almost a week.

From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell

The convicted murderer who survived a botched execution attempt in the US state of Tennessee last week has been discharged from hospital and returned to prison, her lawyers said Saturday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

Woods said in an interview that she was relieved when she saw that the Education Department had discharged loans for the borrowers who enrolled in Ashford between March 1, 2009 and April 30, 2020.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

But for months or even years after these borrowers received notice that their debt had been discharged, many were still finding outstanding loan balances when they logged into their servicer’s portal.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

It added no water would be taken from the Menai Strait and no warm cooling water would be discharged into it.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

“The first case operated on under the sterilization law” had gone just as planned, and the patient was discharged in excellent health, Bell wrote.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Hundreds more horses in nearby Toronto were soon shivering, coughing and discharging an unusual mucus through their nostrils.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

Diablo Canyon uses 2.5 billion gallons of ocean water for cooling each day, discharging hot water directly into the nearby cove.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

A charge cycle represents one complete use of a battery, from charging to discharging and back again.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

France's main energy provider also shut down two nuclear reactors on Thursday as an environmental protection measure to avoid discharging too much hot water into already warming rivers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

It is true one or two errors have been noticeable recently in the discharging of his duties, but these are in every case very trivial in nature.'

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• expel
• let go
• let one go
• remove
• terminate