dispenser

[ dih-spen-ser ]

noun

1. a person or thing that dispenses.
2. a container, package, device, or vending machine for holding and dispensing something in small amounts, as facial tissue, paper cups, or candy.

dispenser

/ dɪˈspɛnsə /

noun

1. a device, such as a vending machine, that automatically dispenses a single item or a measured quantity
2. a person or thing that dispenses

Word History and Origins

Origin of dispenser¹

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; dispense, -er ¹

Example Sentences

In our case, we used the food dispenser where the connection was not that obvious.

From Science News

Strict rules on cleaning in public areas, and the distribution of sanitizer dispensers, have also helped.

From Digiday

Some can also be used as a baby monitor, while others have distinct features, like a treat dispenser, that make them a pet-only monitor.

From Popular-Science

Still others got tickets each time somebody pressed the dispenser around dinner time — these tickets could be traded for toothbrushes, backpacks and other useful items.

From Science News

Although a soap dispenser isn’t necessarily an organizing tool, Cruzado likes using matching accessories to reduce visual clutter.

From Washington Post

The comic Andy Kindler performs like “a Pez dispenser of passive aggression.”

From The Daily Beast

Twine dispenser:  This is sort of a medium-advanced chef gift.

From The Daily Beast

Allison then broke down during a market-research session and threw a brass cigarette dispenser at Don, quitting.

From The Daily Beast

Justice incarnate, you are a virtual Pez dispenser of convictions.

From The Daily Beast

For Newcastle, the veteran dispenser of the royal patronage, such a system meant political extinction.

From Project Gutenberg

He twirled the dial and slipped a couple of five-dollar coins into the dispenser slot.

From Project Gutenberg

She was the dispenser of court favors, the arbiter of fortunes, the real ruler of the land.

From Project Gutenberg

Then the dispenser of work and of wages will exert an empire absolute over his wage-earning workingmen.

From Project Gutenberg

My dear dead father used to be holy water dispenser at the Church of St. Medard.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• banker
• merchant
• retailer
• trader
• trafficker
• vendor
• wholesaler