dispense

American  

[dih-spens] / dɪˈspɛns /

verb (used with object)

• dispenses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dispensed,
  past participle,  past
• dispensing
  present participle

1. to deal out; distribute.

   to dispense wisdom.

   Synonyms:

   dole, allot, apportion

2. to administer.

   to dispense the law without bias.

3. Pharmacology. to make up and distribute (medicine), especially on prescription.

4. Roman Catholic Church. to grant dispensation.

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verb (used without object)

• dispenses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dispensed,
  past participle,  past
• dispensing
  present participle

1. to grant dispensation.

noun

1. Obsolete. expenditure.

verb phrase

1. dispense with

   1. to do without; forgo.

      to dispense with preliminaries.

   2. to do away with; rid of.

   3. to grant exemption from a law or promise.

dispense British  

/ dɪˈspɛns /

verb

1. (tr) to give out or issue in portions

2. (tr) to prepare and distribute (medicine), esp on prescription

3. (tr) to administer (the law, etc)

4. to do away (with) or manage (without)

5. to grant a dispensation to (someone) from (some obligation of church law)

6. to exempt or excuse from a rule or obligation

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Usage

Dispense with is sometimes wrongly used where dispose of is meant: this task can be disposed of (not dispensed with ) quickly and easily

Synonym Usage

See distribute.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undispensed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• dispensing
  present
• dispensed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dispense
  simple
• dispenses
  simple
• have dispensed
  perfect
• has dispensed
  perfect
• am dispensing
  progressive
• are dispensing
  progressive
• is dispensing
  progressive
• have been dispensing
  perfect progressive
• has been dispensing
  perfect progressive

Past

• dispensed
  simple
• had dispensed
  perfect
• was dispensing
  progressive
• were dispensing
  progressive
• had been dispensing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dispense
  simple
• will have dispensed
  perfect
• will be dispensing
  progressive
• will have been dispensing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of dispense

1275–1325; Middle English dispensen < Medieval Latin dispēnsāre to pardon, exempt, Latin: to pay out, distribute, equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + pēnsāre, frequentative of pendere to weigh

Explanation

To dispense means to give out or distribute something. A school nurse can dispense students' medication and we all can dispense advice. The word dispense comes from the Old French word dispenser, meaning "give out." You can dispense anything from hand sanitizer to dating advice. When dispense is paired with with it means "get rid of it" or "skip." If you dispense with traditional Thanksgiving dishes, you might instead celebrate with pizza, pancakes, tacos — anything but turkey and all the fixings.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dispense dispenses dispensed dispensing

One of the FDA’s concerns is that the agency doesn’t have any information about the containers that would be used by compounding pharmacies to dispense the medication.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

"If we allow this to happen, no judge will be able to dispense justice," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

In February, Monsanto proposed another multi-billion dollar class settlement to dispense with claims that Roundup causes cancer.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

The FDA’s road to regulating compounding pharmacies — and by extension the peptides they seek to dispense — has been long and tedious.

From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026

The willingness of a Wall Street investment bank to pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars to dispense investment advice to grown-ups remains a mystery to me to this day.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

This streamlined version—co-written with Leonard Mlodinow, a physicist and popular-science author—retains explanations of vital topics, such as the curvature of spacetime and Einstein’s theory of relativity, but dispenses with the drier sections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

Azerbaijan's singer Jiva is much more ruthless as she dispenses with a lover on the cinematic ballad Just Go.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

The musical, featuring a book by David Hornsby and Chris Hoch and a score by the Rescues that dispenses with the movie’s cover-heavy soundtrack, is undeniably overstuffed.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

She also conducts research for patients—from cancer treatment to skin care—and dispenses advice that other doctors might not; a patient recently texted to ask if the foundation makeup she was considering was “clean beauty.”

From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025

Without questioning Theo’s authority or checking in again with me, the porter dispenses two tickets, handing Theo the printed billets and moving on to the next passengers.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

As the show’s host, Queen Latifah dispensed uplifting thoughts about American idealism throughout the evening but also got a slot of her own to do her classic “U.N.I.T.Y.” with help from a rambunctious drum line.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

The drug could be dispensed only in person by a qualified physician, which protected women with life-threatening ectopic pregnancies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026

His subjects, he tells us, have dispensed with outmoded theology and instead put ritual to its proper use as a useful technological aid to social connection and cohesion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

The investigation also found that the Ayrshire pharmacy which dispensed the drops did not pick up the manufacturer's recall email until nearly three months after it was issued.

From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026

“You have tried to do too much in the past few days. The dinner was the last straw; you might have dispensed with it” “Yes,” she admitted; “it was stupid.”

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

This will be more than a typical evening at the Bowl, with dedicated Anderson-branded merchandise and uniformed bicycle riders dispensing candy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Warsh hinted at a blizzard of changes ahead, but the biggest arguably may be dispensing with consideration of the markets’ reaction to the Fed’s words.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

We also found that the rate of serious adverse events was significantly higher after the FDA removed the in-person dispensing requirement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

In 2021 the FDA eliminated the requirement for in-person dispensing entirely, a temporary Covid move that was made permanent in 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026

He was no longer selling; he was dispensing favors.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• allocate
• allot
• disburse
• distribute
• furnish
• give away
• hand out