discharge

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

/ verb dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ; noun ˈdɪs tʃɑrdʒ, dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ /

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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 bankrupt) from former debts.
to cancel (a contract).
to release (bail).

(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

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Origin of discharge

1300–50; Middle English deschargen<Anglo-French descharger,Old French <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, adjectiveun·dis·charged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use discharge in a sentence

Instead, lithium ions increasingly fail to find their way back into their slots in the crystal during battery discharge.
New “targeted healing” approach rejuvenates run-down battery materials|Scott K. Johnson|November 19, 2020|Ars Technica
This certificate provides information about the circumstances of the discharge or release.
Eight reasons COVID-19 has hit veterans particularly hard|By Jamie Rowen/The Conversation|November 11, 2020|Popular-Science
Every living organism sheds DNA, whether in body cells like skin cells or in discharges like urine and feces.
Scientists are tracking down deep sea creatures with free-floating DNA|Kat Eschner|November 5, 2020|Popular-Science
Medicare counts as a readmission any of those patients who ended up back in any hospital within 30 days of discharge, except for planned returns like a second phase of surgery.
Medicare will fine half of U.S. hospitals for readmitting too many patients pre-COVID|lbelanger225|November 2, 2020|Fortune

If you have multiple felony convictions and were incarcerated, you must wait two years from your date of absolute discharge to apply for your rights to be restored.
The road to restoration: reclaiming your rights as a once-convicted felon|Truthbetold|November 1, 2020|TruthBeTold.news
It was the very day her father, Solomon, was discharged from the ETU.
The Life of a Liberian Child with Ebola|Sarah Crowe|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He enlisted in the Navy in 2001 but was dishonorably discharged for misconduct two years later, according to CNN.
Lone Wolves, Terrorist Runts, and the Stray Dogs of ISIS|Jacob Siegel|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He asked her and other survivors who were being discharged to leave everything else behind.
‘Her Survival Was a Miracle’: The 6-Year-Old Who Beat Ebola|Wade C.L. Williams|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Just last week, it was reported that the 44-year-old Hunter was discharged from the Navy after testing positive for cocaine.
Where There’s Trouble, You’ll Usually Find Joe Biden|Lloyd Green|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Peters joined the Navy Reserve in 1993 and was honorably discharged in 2008, the year he was elected to Congress.
The (Sloppy) Swift-Boating of Michigan Democrat Gary Peters|Tim Mak|October 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Arrived at the dépôt, I discharged my porter, sat down and waited for the place to open, with ample leisure for reflection.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
The second barrel was discharged with no better result, except that a splinter of its horn was knocked off.
Hunting the Lions|R.M. Ballantyne
His duties as Pipe-master, Hennemann discharged with great fidelity; yea, even with genuine fanatical zeal.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Much of the haste and irritation which had previously led to blows discharged itself in a good-natured sneeze.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
About half a pound on the inch was lost in the vacuum, the discharged water being 130 of heat instead of 100.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick

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 related to discharge

How to use discharge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for discharge

Derived forms of discharge

Scientific definitions for discharge