dispose of

Idioms  

1. Attend to, settle, deal with, as in He quickly disposed of the problem . [Early 1600s]

2. 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]

3. 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]

4. 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]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dispose of

The researchers found that tissue-resident macrophages, a type of immune cell that lives permanently within organs, become less able with age to dispose of another class of immune cells.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

They quickly dispose of Lepidus and prepare for a showdown with Antony.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

It has urged people to avoid disposable barbecues, dispose of smoking materials and put litter in the bin or take it home to avoid starting wildfires.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Jegede said if the leaves or fruit are too delicate to wash or ash is still visible, it would be best to dispose of the produce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

And there were still two banged-up bronze bulls to dispose of, which I didn’t figure would fit in our normal recycling bins.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• destroy
• discard
• dump
• eliminate
• get rid of
• relinquish
• scrap
• sell
• unload