discharge

American  

[dis-chahrj, dis-chahrj, dis-chahrj] / dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ, ˈdɪs tʃɑrdʒ, dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ /

verb (used with object)

discharges, present (3rd person singular) discharged, past participle, past discharging present participle

1. to relieve of a charge or load; unload.

   to discharge a ship.

   Synonyms:

   disburden, unburden

2. to remove or send forth.

   They discharged the cargo at New York.

3. to fire or shoot (a firearm or missile).

   to discharge a gun.

4. to pour forth; emit.

   to discharge oil;

   to discharge a stream of invective.

   Synonyms:

   exude, eject, expel

5. to relieve oneself of (an obligation, burden, etc.).

6. to relieve of obligation, responsibility, etc.

7. to fulfill, perform, or execute (a duty, function, etc.).

8. to relieve or deprive of office, employment, etc.; dismiss from service.

   Synonyms:

   remove, fire, cashier

9. to release, send away, or allow to go (often followed byfrom ).

   The children were discharged early from school. They discharged him from prison.

   Synonyms:

   free, dismiss

10. to pay (a debt).

    Synonyms:

    liquidate, settle

11. Law.

    1. to release (a defendant, especially one under confinement).

    2. to release (a person declared bankrupt) from former debts.

    3. to cancel (a contract, debt, or other obligation).

    4. to release (bail) back to the one who posted it.

12. (in a legislative body) to order (a committee) to cease further consideration of a bill so that it can be voted on.

13. Electricity. to rid (a battery, capacitor, etc.) of a charge of electricity.

14. Dyeing. to free from a dye, as by chemical bleaching.

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verb (used without object)

discharges, present (3rd person singular) discharged, past participle, past discharging present participle

1. to get rid of a burden or load.

2. to deliver a charge or load.

3. to pour forth.

4. to go off or fire, as a firearm or missile.

5. to blur or run, as a color or dye.

6. Electricity. to lose or give up a charge of electricity.

noun

discharges plural

1. the act of discharging a ship, load, etc.

2. the act of firing a weapon, as an arrow by drawing and releasing the string of the bow, or a gun by exploding the charge of powder.

   Synonyms:

   detonation

3. a sending or coming forth, as of water from a pipe; ejection; emission.

4. the rate or amount of such issue.

5. something sent forth or emitted.

6. a relieving, ridding, or getting rid of something of the nature of a charge.

7. Law.

   1. an acquittal or exoneration.

   2. an annulment, as of a court order.

   3. the freeing of one held under legal process.

8. a relieving or being relieved of obligation or liability; fulfillment of an obligation.

   Synonyms:

   performance, execution

9. the payment of a debt.

10. a release or dismissal, as from prison, an office, or employment.

11. a certificate of such a release or a certificate of release from obligation or liability.

12. the act or process of ordering a legislative committee to cease further consideration of a bill so that it can be voted on.

13. Military.

    1. the separation of a person from military service.

    2. a certificate of such separation.

14. Electricity.

    1. the removal or transference of an electric charge, as by the conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy.

    2. the equalization of a difference of potential, as between two terminals.

discharge British  

verb

1. (tr) to release or allow to go

   the hospital discharged the patient

2. (tr) to dismiss from or relieve of duty, office, employment, etc

3. to fire or be fired, as a gun

4. to pour forth or cause to pour forth

   the boil discharges pus

5. (tr) to remove (the cargo) from (a boat, etc); unload

6. (tr) to perform (the duties of) or meet (the demands of an office, obligation, etc)

   he discharged his responsibilities as mayor

7. (tr) to relieve oneself of (a responsibility, debt, etc)

8. (intr) physics

   1. to lose or remove electric charge

   2. to form an arc, spark, or corona in a gas

   3. to take or supply electrical current from a cell or battery

9. (tr) law to release (a prisoner from custody, etc)

10. (tr) to remove dye from (a fabric), as by bleaching

11. (intr) (of a dye or colour) to blur or run

12. (tr) architect

    1. to spread (weight) evenly over a supporting member

    2. to relieve a member of (excess weight) by distribution of pressure

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noun

1. a person or thing that is discharged

2. 1. dismissal or release from an office, job, institution, etc

   2. the document certifying such release

3. the fulfilment of an obligation or release from a responsibility or liability

   honourable discharge

4. the act of removing a load, as of cargo

5. a pouring forth of a fluid; emission

6. 1. the act of firing a projectile

   2. the volley, bullet, missile, etc, fired

7. law

   1. a release, as of a person held under legal restraint

   2. an annulment, as of a court order

8. physics

   1. the act or process of removing or losing charge or of equalizing a potential difference

   2. a transient or continuous conduction of electricity through a gas by the formation and movement of electrons and ions in an applied electric field

9. 1. the volume of fluid flowing along a pipe or a channel in unit time

   2. the output rate of a plant or piece of machinery, such as a pump

discharge Scientific  

/ dĭs-chärj′ /

1. The conversion of chemical energy to electric energy within a storage battery.

2. A flow of electricity in a dielectric, especially in a rarefied gas.

3. A flowing out or pouring forth, as of a bodily fluid; emission or secretion.

4. A substance or material that is released, emitted, or excreted, especially from the body.

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1. To undergo or cause the release of stored energy or electric charge, as from a battery or capacitor.

2. To release, emit, or excrete a substance, especially from the body.

Synonym Usage

See release. See perform.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• discharger
  noun
• predischarge
  noun
• redischarge
  verb
• predischarge
  verb (used with object)
• dischargeable
  adjective
• nondischarging
  adjective
• undischargeable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• discharges
  plural

Participles

• discharging
  present
• discharged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• discharge
  simple
• discharges
  simple
• have discharged
  perfect
• has discharged
  perfect
• am discharging
  progressive
• are discharging
  progressive
• is discharging
  progressive
• have been discharging
  perfect progressive
• has been discharging
  perfect progressive

Past

• discharged
  simple
• had discharged
  perfect
• was discharging
  progressive
• were discharging
  progressive
• had been discharging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will discharge
  simple
• will have discharged
  perfect
• will be discharging
  progressive
• will have been discharging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of discharge

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English deschargen, from Anglo-French descharger, Old French, from Late Latin discarricāre, equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + carricāre “to load”; see charge

Explanation

To discharge is to fire a gun or an employee, or to set someone free from a hospital or jail. You'd probably like being discharged from jail, but not from your job, unless you really hate it. As a verb, discharge is “to release,” and as a noun, it refers to the act of or setting free. You'd be discharged from the hospital once the discharge from your wound has stopped. Ew. The writer Ambrose Bierce jokingly defined emotion as "a prostrating disease caused by a determination of the heart to the head. It is sometimes accompanied by a copious discharge of hydrated chloride of sodium from the eyes.” Wouldn't want to cry in front of that guy!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

discharge discharges discharged discharging

This created a form of plasma called a glow discharge.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

The latest French heatwave has forced the temporary shutdown of three nuclear power stations to avoid the discharge of warm cooling water into overheated waterways.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

He served as a photographer in Germany during the Korean War and joined his father at Disney following his 1952 discharge from the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

But the doctors haven't given him a discharge date.

From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026

“Of course”—J/C gestures to us—“it’s a lot better when you have family support. They want to make sure they discharge you into a safe environment. I don’t have that.”

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

Welsh Water is also one of the defendants in an ongoing civil case over pollution in the River Wye, where residents and businesses allege sewage discharges contributed to environmental damage.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

France has reduced output at its nuclear reactors, because the rivers where it discharges water used to cool the reactors are already too hot.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Now the department is ending the most-generous repayment plan and has extinguished hopes for sweeping discharges of debt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

The follow-up River Wye Action Plan in 2024 blamed excessive nutrients from farming and wastewater discharges as well as climate change for increasing the water temperature and reducing the water flow in hot dry summers.

From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026

The doctor finally discharges Alan after almost a week.

From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell

The teenager spent around two days in hospital before being discharged to go home, where he died, according to officials.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Four servicemembers were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and have since been discharged, according to Centcom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

It requires monthly payments of at least $10 and 30 years of payments before balances can be discharged, unless borrowers are in public service.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Student loans can be discharged in some bankruptcy cases, for example, but they are much harder to erase than other kinds of consumer debt.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

In the process of being discharged from the Union Army, he had gone to a white officer to seek help in filling out his papers.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Sherwin said firefighters could hear ammunition discharging in the distance as they continued to fight the flames.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

France's main energy provider also shut down two nuclear reactors on Thursday as an environmental protection measure to avoid discharging too much hot water into already warming rivers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

DC Water violated the Clean Water Act, which prohibits discharging pollutants into navigable waters, the lawsuit in Washington, D.C.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

Sinead said she had asked Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - which cared for Calocane before discharging him months before the deadly attacks - whether they had shared his medical records with Blackwood.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

Two piers down, a Volantene river galley was discharging soldiers.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Related Words

• expel
• let go
• let one go
• remove
• terminate