dole

¹ American  

[dohl] / doʊl /

noun

1. a portion or allotment of money, food, etc., especially as given at regular intervals by a charity or for maintenance.

   Synonyms:

   pittance, share, alms

2. a dealing out or distributing, especially in charity.

3. a form of payment to the unemployed instituted by the British government in 1918.

4. any similar payment by a government to an unemployed person.

5. Archaic. one's fate or destiny.

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verb (used with object)

doled, doling

1. to distribute in charity.

2. to give out sparingly or in small quantities (usually followed byout ).

   The last of the water was doled out to the thirsty crew.

   Synonyms:

   ration, mete

idioms

1. on the dole, receiving payment from the government, as relief.

   They couldn't afford any luxuries while living on the dole.

dole ² American  

[dohl] / doʊl /

noun

Archaic.

1. grief or sorrow; lamentation.

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Dole ³ American  

[dohl] / doʊl /

noun

1. Robert J(oseph), 1923–2021, U.S. politician: senator 1969–96.

2. Sanford Ballard, 1844–1926, U.S. politician and jurist in Hawaii: president of Republic of Hawaii 1894–98; first territorial governor 1900–03.

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dole ¹ British  

/ dəʊl /

noun

1. a small portion or share, as of money or food, given to a poor person

2. the act of giving or distributing such portions

3. informal money received from the state while out of work

4. informal receiving such money

5. archaic fate

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verb

1. to distribute, esp in small portions

dole ² British  

/ dəʊl /

noun

1. archaic grief or mourning

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Etymology

Origin of dole¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English dol, dal “part, subdivision,” Old English dāl, gedāl “sharing”; deal ¹

Origin of dole²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English dol, dol(e), doll from Old French duel, doel, from Late Latin dolus, for Latin dolor dolor

Example Sentences

Nonfinancial dividend payers in the S&P 500 doled out about $650 billion in dividends over the past 12 months, for a yield of about 2.3%.

From Barron's

Rea said he was on the dole at the time, his manager had just left him and he had been banned from driving.

From BBC

How does the league dole out those big national windows.

From Los Angeles Times

Were that money simply doled out evenly to the 19.8 million families the government defines as poor, each household would receive more than $70,000 a year.

From The Wall Street Journal

They stuck to their core business, generating a lot of cash to be doled out to investors.

From The Wall Street Journal