discharge

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR discharge 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.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR discharge

1. unburden, disburden. 4. expel, eject, exude. 8. cashier, fire, remove. 9. dismiss, expel. 10. settle, liquidate. 22. detonation, shooting. 28. execution, performance.

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Related forms

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

Synonym study

6. See release. 7. See perform.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for discharged

It was the very day her father, Solomon, was discharged from the ETU.
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Just last week, it was reported that the 44-year-old Hunter was discharged from the Navy after testing positive for cocaine.
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The motorcyclist has since been discharged from hospital, while the taxi driver is in a 'stable' condition, the Mail reports.
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She is discharged from the hospital and dies three months later in her sleep.
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She got better with each passing day and was discharged from the hospital after three weeks, herself a survivor.
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And with great composure the Corporal drew out a well-filled purse, and discharged the bill.
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At the age of 16 he was charged with the offence of vagrancy, convicted and discharged.
Mental Defectives and Sexual Offenders|W. H. Triggs, Donald McGavin, Frederick Truby King, J. Sands Elliot, Ada G. Patterson, C.E. Matthews and J. Beck
While you are looking, what was your rank when you were discharged?
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
Some men are born leisurely, some achieve leisure, and some are discharged by their employers.
The Idiot at Home|John Kendrick Bangs
Wash with alcohol until no more colour is discharged and the alcohol runs away clear and colourless.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre

British Dictionary definitions for discharged

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 Formsdischargeable, 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

Word Origin and History for discharged

discharge

early 14c., "to exempt, exonerate, release," from Old French deschargier (12c., Modern French décharger) "to unload, discharge," from Late Latin discarricare, from dis- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + carricare "load" (see charge (v.)).

Meaning "to unload, to free from" is late 14c. Of weapons, from 1550s. The electrical sense is first attested 1748. Meaning "to fulfill, to perform one's duties" is from c.1400. Related: Discharged; discharging.

discharge

late 14c., "relief from misfortune," see discharge (v.). Meaning "release from work or duty" is from early 15c.

Medicine definitions for discharged

discharge

[dĭs-chärj′]

v.

To emit a substance, as by excretion or secretion.

To release a patient from custody or care.

To generate an electrical impulse. Used of a neuron.

n.

The act of releasing, emitting, or secreting.

A substance that is excreted or secreted.

The generation of an electrical impulse by a neuron.

Science definitions for discharged

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

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

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

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of discharge

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for discharged

discharge

verb (dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ)

noun (ˈdɪstʃɑːdʒ, dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ)

discharge

discharge

discharge

v.

n.

discharge

Noun

Verb