distributed

American  

[dih-strib-yoo-tid] / dɪˈstrɪb yʊ tɪd /

adjective

1. Computers.

   1. 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.

   2. 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.

2. 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.

3. Statistics. showing a specified type of distribution.

   A randomly distributed dominant gene has a prevalence of 75 percent.

---

Other Word Forms

• undistributed adjective
• well-distributed adjective

Etymology

Origin of distributed

distribute + -ed ²

Example Sentences

It said net proceeds would be distributed to shareholders.

From The Wall Street Journal

If you want the assets to be protected from creditors, estate taxes, or distributed at designated ages, the trust itself should be named as the beneficiary.

From MarketWatch

Around 700 coupons are distributed daily, and cooked food is sent to 16 nearby mosques to serve both to the needy and the faithful.

From BBC

These methods verified that the nitrogen atoms were positioned side by side rather than randomly distributed.

From Science Daily

It may also help map how matter is distributed around neutron stars and even offer clues about their internal structure through their gravitational effects.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• appropriated
• assigned
• dispersed
• scattered
• shared