dispose of
Idioms-
Attend to, settle, deal with, as in He quickly disposed of the problem . [Early 1600s]
-
Transfer, part with, as by giving away or selling. For example, They wanted to dispose of the land as soon as possible . [Second half of 1600s]
-
Get rid of, throw out, as in Can we dispose of the trash in this barrel? Oliver Goldsmith had this idiom in She Stoops to Conquer (1773): “I'm disposing of the husband before I have secured the lover.” [Mid-1600s]
-
Kill or destroy; also, humorously, consume. For example, The king was determined to dispose of his enemies , or John disposed of the cake in no time . [Second half of 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Passing the bill would also start to relieve a logjam of legislation that Congress is seeking to dispose of before its August recess and the November midterm elections.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
It said "bins can often fill up faster than they can be collected" during peak times and pleaded with people to "dispose of waste responsibly".
From BBC • May 31, 2026
It might dispose of him in a minute.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
People who bought the affected product should not eat the product and should dispose of it as soon as possible.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
Somehow Ellsworth had blundered—either through carelessness or a clerical error—and didn’t pay $480 that was owed, and as contractually agreed upon, the company had the right to dispose of the storage room’s contents.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.