- past participle of distribute.
- past tense form of distribute.
distributed
Americanadjective
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Computers.
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being or relating to a network of devices, workstations, etc., in different locations connected by means of one or more other networks, allowing each member to carry out some or all of the management and processing of the shared information.
As computers began to connect across the internet, the CPU evolved from being specifically a central control system to become a node within a distributed network.
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being or relating to a single database shared across such a network, especially one integrating multiple smaller databases.
Back then no one was thinking of distributed databases with hundreds of servers working to keep data consistent across the nodes.
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Linguistics. (in distinctive feature analysis) characterized by relatively extensive contact or constriction between the articulating organs, as the in show in contrast to the in so.
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Statistics. showing a specified type of distribution.
A randomly distributed dominant gene has a prevalence of 75 percent.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of distributed
Explanation
Something is distributed when it's divided up or spread around, the way cupcakes might be distributed among guests at a birthday party. Distributed is a word that's often used to describe the stuff that businesses sell. When a truck pulls up to a convenience store and the driver unloads cases of soda, the soda is being distributed. The driver will go from store to store, distributing all of the soda in the truck between different stores and restaurants. Words and ideas can be distributed too, which is what happens at school when students are lucky.
Vocabulary lists containing distributed
Copper Sun
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Homesick
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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.
People will be able to collect empty shoeboxes from participating supermarkets, fill them while doing their shopping and return them to be distributed through schools and local charities.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Early in Russia’s 2022 invasion, Velicovich headed to Lviv, in western Ukraine, where he distributed first-aid kits to soldiers along with sushi restaurateur Michael Sinensky and businessman Roman Vintfeld, who were there through a charity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
California’s Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project offers point-of-sale discounts on zero-emission trucks and buses and has distributed $1 billion so far.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
In principle, a trust can be structured so that part of the investment income is distributed to a church while another part is reinvested.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
The churches distributed bags of toys to 300 Durham families.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
