distribute
Americanverb (used with object)
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to divide and give out in shares; deal out; allot.
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to disperse through a space or over an area; spread; scatter.
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to promote, sell, and ship or deliver (an item or line of merchandise) to individual customers, especially in a specified region or area.
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to pass out or deliver (mail, newspapers, etc.) to intended recipients.
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to divide into distinct phases.
The process was distributed into three stages.
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to divide into classes.
These plants are distributed into 22 classes.
- Synonyms:
- categorize, arrange, sort, classify
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Logic. to employ (a term) in a proposition so as to refer to all individuals denoted by the term.
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Physical Chemistry. to dissolve uniformly in a solvent consisting of layers of immiscible or partially miscible substances.
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Printing.
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to roll out (ink) on the table to attain the proper consistency.
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to return (type) to the proper place after printing.
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verb
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to give out in shares; dispense
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to hand out or deliver
to distribute handbills
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(often passive) to spread throughout a space or area
gulls are distributed along the west coast
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(often passive) to divide into classes or categories; classify
these books are distributed in four main categories
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printing to return (used type) to the correct positions in the type case
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logic to incorporate in a distributed term of a categorial proposition
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maths logic to expand an expression containing two operators in such a way that the precedence of the operators is changed; for example, distributing multiplication over addition in a ( b + c ) yields ab + ac
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obsolete to dispense (justice)
Related Words
Distribute, dispense apply to giving out something. Distribute implies apportioned, individualized giving, especially of something that is definite or limited in amount or number: The prizes were distributed among ten winners. Dispense formerly implied indiscriminate, general, and liberal giving, especially of something that was more or less indefinite or unmeasured in amount: to dispense largesse. It now applies chiefly to giving according to need or deserts, from an organized and official source: to dispense medicines and food to the victims.
Other Word Forms
- distributable adjective
- predistribute verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of distribute
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin distribūtus, past participle of distribuere “to divide up”; dis- 1, tribute
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.
Do they want a punch in midfield or the ability to distribute quickly into wide channels?
From BBC
Buoyed by their enthusiasm, HBO Max decided to distribute it in the US and Australia.
From BBC
Dissertations can be written about what these comparative numbers say about, first, the long-term strength of the U.S. economy and, second, whether its majestic growth in wealth is distributed fairly.
From Los Angeles Times
It requires that all wills should be filed with the probate court when they are discovered, even if probate has already been informally initiated or some assets were already distributed.
From MarketWatch
Each year, he distributes to colleagues a color-coded calendar — a different color for every sport he’s covering that day — and the patchwork on every page looks like the Partridge family bus.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
