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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use discharge in a sentence
The new settlement, which needs court approval, resolves a suit filed by the Sierra Club and other groups in August 2019, alleging excess discharges of selenium, which can be toxic to fish and other aquatic life, at Bluestone’s Red Fox Mine.
A Coal Company Owned by This Billionaire Governor Has Pledged to Stop Breaking Pollution Laws | by Ken Ward Jr. | December 4, 2020 | ProPublicaIn its record of decision, USACE determined that the applicant’s plan for the discharge of fill material does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines and concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest.
North America’s biggest salmon run may no longer be in danger | By Alex Robinson/Outdoor Life | November 30, 2020 | Popular-ScienceIn California, SB 1421, which took effect last year, requires agencies to turn over records, including video, in incidents involving the discharge of a firearm, or use of force that results in death or great bodily injury.
Review Board Grills Sheriff’s Department Over Body Cameras | Kelly Davis | November 23, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoVeterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have disproportionately more of these negative discharges than veterans from other eras, for reasons still unclear.
Eight reasons COVID-19 has hit veterans particularly hard | By Jamie Rowen/The Conversation | November 11, 2020 | Popular-ScienceMany veterans have requested upgrades to their discharge status.
Eight reasons COVID-19 has hit veterans particularly hard | By Jamie Rowen/The Conversation | November 11, 2020 | Popular-Science
The very first obligation, voluntarily accepted by personally or socially discharging it, binds additionally to it.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John CunninghamThis very moment, there is a slave ship discharging her cargo, and the slaves are singing as they go ashore.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria GrahamBut no sooner was she full than the discharging tubes freed her, and she rose again and again, buoyant as a cork.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands | R.M. BallantyneIt would be difficult to imagine two men more opposite in character, discharging the same functions.
The Supplies for the Confederate Army | Caleb HuseWe would consequently have the ions discharging and forming metal more rapidly than they are formed.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2. | Julius Stieglitz
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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