dispense
Americanverb (used with object)
-
dispenses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dispensed,
past participle, past
-
dispensing
present participle
-
to deal out; distribute.
to dispense wisdom.
-
to administer.
to dispense the law without bias.
-
Pharmacology. to make up and distribute (medicine), especially on prescription.
-
Roman Catholic Church. to grant dispensation.
verb (used without object)
-
dispenses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dispensed,
past participle, past
-
dispensing
present participle
noun
verb phrase
verb
-
(tr) to give out or issue in portions
-
(tr) to prepare and distribute (medicine), esp on prescription
-
(tr) to administer (the law, etc)
-
to do away (with) or manage (without)
-
to grant a dispensation to (someone) from (some obligation of church law)
-
to exempt or excuse from a rule or obligation
Usage
Dispense with is sometimes wrongly used where dispose of is meant: this task can be disposed of (not dispensed with ) quickly and easily
Synonym Usage
See distribute.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dispensesimple
-
dispensessimple
-
have dispensedperfect
-
has dispensedperfect
-
am dispensingprogressive
-
are dispensingprogressive
-
is dispensingprogressive
-
have been dispensingperfect progressive
-
has been dispensingperfect progressive
Past
-
dispensedsimple
-
had dispensedperfect
-
was dispensingprogressive
-
were dispensingprogressive
-
had been dispensingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dispense
1275–1325; Middle English dispensen < Medieval Latin dispēnsāre to pardon, exempt, Latin: to pay out, distribute, equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + pēnsāre, frequentative of pendere to weigh
Explanation
To dispense means to give out or distribute something. A school nurse can dispense students' medication and we all can dispense advice. The word dispense comes from the Old French word dispenser, meaning "give out." You can dispense anything from hand sanitizer to dating advice. When dispense is paired with with it means "get rid of it" or "skip." If you dispense with traditional Thanksgiving dishes, you might instead celebrate with pizza, pancakes, tacos — anything but turkey and all the fixings.
Vocabulary lists containing dispense
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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.
See Examples For:
It went on to encourage its members not to knowingly dispense medicines that would be misused - and report any side affects to the health authorities of those that had been.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
One of the FDA’s concerns is that it doesn’t have any information about the containers that would be used by compounding pharmacies to dispense the medication.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
After leaving Westminster, Burnham similarly began to dispense with ties and jackets.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
In February, Monsanto proposed another multi-billion dollar class settlement to dispense with claims that Roundup causes cancer.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
In addition, Khoi herders west of the Fish River of South Africa traded with Bantu farmers east of the Fish River, and continued to dispense with farming themselves.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Perhaps due to a paucity of sources, Mr. Mancall dispenses quickly with events before 1450, depriving readers of a deep look at indigenous life before the arrival of Europeans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The NHS pays pharmacies a fixed price for each medicine it dispenses.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
She also conducts research for patients—from cancer treatment to skin care—and dispenses advice that other doctors might not; a patient recently texted to ask if the foundation makeup she was considering was “clean beauty.”
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
Desperation and fear bleed through everything he dispenses.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2025
Like the second theory, this one considers modern Japanese to be slightly modified Koreans but dispenses with the need for large-scale immigration.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Actors’ health insurance plans are typically managed by performing arts unions rather than dispensed by a single corporate employer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Saum Poorsaleh, San Diego police public information officer, said his department had issued more than 50 citations at Sunset Cliffs and dispensed about 350 warnings, written and oral, since mid-June.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Prepared food and dispensed beverage same-store sales growth fell to 4.8%, from 5.6% the year before.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh dispensed with subtlety altogether.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
The investigation revealed that the task force seized large amounts of money, but also small amounts, and then dispensed it freely, unconstrained by reporting requirements or the task force’s mission.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Long before Oz entered politics, for example, he’d been discredited for dispensing a vast array of scientifically unsound medical advice on “The Dr. Oz Show,” which Winfrey’s Harpo Productions co-produced.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Matthews said until the Blythe prison site’s infrastructure is separated from neighboring Ironwood State Prison and its bond obligations are resolved, the property can’t move through the state’s process for dispensing with surplus property.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
At a centre called "Sniffspace", dogs test human samples on platforms equipped with automatic feeders dispensing dog treats.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
In response, local authorities started dispensing fuel straight from road tankers which keep changing their location to minimise the chances of being hit.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Tata Bidibidi, with his kind, pretty wife and their precarious boat dispensing milk powder and quinine and love to children along the river.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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