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

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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

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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

She would attend meetings “to read scripts, write notes, and dispense mineral water.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

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

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

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

And he wouldn't argue with the fact that it is far easier to console and dispense advice to virtual children - and yet he finds some comfort in the trend.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Because of Chapel Hill High School’s strict Zero Tolerance Policy toward drugs, the school nurse had to dispense all medications for Chapel Hill High School students.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

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

Impersonating St. Nick, Taylor dispenses amusingly practical advice to children telling her what they want for Christmas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

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

“Your friend dispenses good advice,” the old beggar chimed in.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Many interesting facts are dispensed in passing: During the summer in Texas, Mr. Smil informs us, an 800-square-foot swimming pool will lose about 185 gallons of water a day to evaporation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

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

Taylor also dispensed with tradition by not having any bridesmaids, while Travis similarly did not have groomsmen, her spokeswoman said.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh dispensed with subtlety altogether.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026

She stood with her head bowed, fighting to hold back her tears, while below Joffrey sat on his Iron Throne and dispensed what it pleased him to call justice.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

In addition to the payment, CVS entered a memorandum of agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration to address future obligations in dispensing controlled substances.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Long before Oz entered politics, for example, he’d been discredited for dispensing a vast array of scientifically unsound medical advice on “The Dr. Oz Show,” which Winfrey’s Harpo Productions co-produced.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

It would be one thing if Macklemore’s comments in New Jersey truly resembled the hate speech that Kraft accused him of dispensing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

At a centre called "Sniffspace", dogs test human samples on platforms equipped with automatic feeders dispensing dog treats.

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

The next minute or two was spent in dispensing drinks.

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

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Related Words

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

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