redistribution

American  

[ree-dis-truh-byoo-shuhn] / ˌri dɪs trəˈbju ʃən /

noun

redistributions plural

1. a distribution performed again or anew.

2. Economics. the theory, policy, or practice of lessening or reducing inequalities in income through such measures as progressive income taxation and antipoverty programs.

---

redistribution British  

/ ˌriːdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃən /

noun

1. the act or instance of distributing or the state or manner of being distributed again

2. a periodic revision of the number of seats in the House of Commons, made to reflect changes in population

---

redistribution Cultural  

1. Any process, such as inflation or taxation or the provision of social services, that reallocates household income.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• redistributional
  adjective
• redistributory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• redistributions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of redistribution

First recorded in 1830–40; re- + distribution

Explanation

If your boss gives all your coworkers a hundred dollars, but only gives you a nickel, you might ask for a redistribution — another try at dividing things up, and hopefully with more cash for you this time. Here, the suffix re- means “once more,” and the Latin root of distribute translates to “divide up.” To divide up something one more time, that’s redistribution. Often redistribution refers to money being spread out more evenly so everyone can have the same amount. In a society where the poor keep getting poorer, and the rich have more money than ever, a plan for the redistribution of wealth would be a welcome idea. Unless you’re rich.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

redistribution redistributions

What is needed is a social dividend to all humanity, not as redistribution but as restitution.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

At its heart, choosing a path of growth over redistribution would be a choice to give priority to the young over the old.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

The EU has long relied upon subsidies and redistribution to assuage the impact from disruptions caused by reducing internal trade barriers, as well as to help integrate poorer nations as the bloc has expanded east.

From Barron's ● May 14, 2026

“We have undertaken significant redistribution of fuels to offset shortages in the Middle East, and are securing alternative sources from different locations and suppliers,” the company said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026

Societies with effective conflict resolution, sound decision making, and harmonious economic redistribution can develop better technology, concentrate their military power, seize larger and more productive territories, and crush autonomous smaller societies one by one.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Such major redistributions of mass can alter planetary orbits while also profoundly influencing how a star shines, adding or siphoning away gas to change the nature and timing of its subsequent stellar evolution.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 5, 2023

The idea of inflation, he continued, evokes “arbitrary injustice, arbitrary redistributions and social bitterness,” and “memories of social situations in which morale and a sense of cooperation were lost.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 6, 2021

Representation is a layered, multifaceted issue — one that involves fundamental shifts and redistributions in power onscreen, behind the scenes, and perhaps even in who is centered as an audience.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2021

Most states also exempt gasoline from sales tax, meaning that even state gas-tax revenues are effectively redistributions from sales tax collections.

From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2021

If this class, like its predecessors, has in its turn mistaken its environment, a redistribution of property must occur, distressing, as previous redistributions have been, in proportion to the inflexibility of the sufferers.

From The Theory of Social Revolutions by Adams, Brooks