redistribute
Americanverb (used with object)
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to distribute again or anew.
The corporation will redistribute its share of the profits to its stockholders.
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to alter the distribution of; apportion differently.
Let's redistribute the work more fairly.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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redistributesimple
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redistributessimple
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have redistributedperfect
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has redistributedperfect
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am redistributingprogressive
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are redistributingprogressive
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is redistributingprogressive
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have been redistributingperfect progressive
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has been redistributingperfect progressive
Past
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redistributedsimple
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had redistributedperfect
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was redistributingprogressive
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were redistributingprogressive
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had been redistributingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of redistribute
First recorded in 1605–15; re- + distribute
Explanation
Redistribute is a verb that means to distribute something again. If one poker player gets too many cards and another gets too few, the dealer should probably shuffle again and redistribute the cards evenly. You may recall the story of Robin Hood, who took it upon himself to "redistribute the wealth" by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Well, in conversations about contemporary economics the word redistribute is often used to complain about taxes, which are often higher for people who have more money.
Vocabulary lists containing redistribute
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:
Such riches will enable it to redistribute $2.7bn to the national football associations over the next four years.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
The agency also said it would redistribute $18 million in Drinking Water State Revolving Fund money that had previously been made available to states to address lead, but was never used.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
This movement into lower soil layers is linked not only to the decomposition of organic material but also to biological activity, such as organisms that help break down leaves and redistribute particles.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 23, 2026
The duo are combining this with new tax exemptions for lower-wage workers plus increased refundable tax credits to redistribute more income.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
Back in the 1980s, the original stated purpose of the mortgage-backed bond had been to redistribute the risk associated with home mortgage lending.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Another potential catalyst: SK Hynix redistributes 10% of its operating profit in employee bonuses—a practice Samsung is also beginning to adopt.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
Squeezing redistributes this uncertainty by making one property more precise while increasing uncertainty in the other.
From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026
FareShare Sussex & Surrey says it rescues and redistributes surplus food from businesses, supermarkets, manufacturers and farms from its depots in Guildford and Brighton to 248 local organisations across the two counties.
From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2025
“There is complexity here. And this is because each time you have an earthquake, it redistributes the stress on the fault, which is going to influence the next earthquake,” Avouac said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2025
Its shape changes utterly as the weight redistributes.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
However, Adam, from the IFS, argues that whether or not money would be redistributed from London and the South East depends on whether the government changes the central grants it gives to local authorities.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
During the Progressive Era, when party machine politics dominated, judicial elections were put forward as a reform to promote democratic accountability because they broke up concentrations of power and redistributed it to the people.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
Deliev added that European Union aid redistributed by local authorities is destined largely for grain farms geared toward exports, which hurts livestock farmers.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
“They are targeting parts of the economy that are outward facing, that are bringing in foreign exchange which could be redistributed and directed at basic needs.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
Redemption shifted his stance, and Hibiscus’s hand slid into empty air as Redemption redistributed his weight, just a little but it said enough and it said it loudly.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
I’m worried I may not be diversified enough and may fare better selling and redistributing into less risky index funds.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
Comments from a senior South Korean official floating the idea of redistributing profits from the AI windfall to citizens weighed on Korean stocks, tapping the brakes on what has been a breakneck run-up this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Holocaust Memorial Museum describes the program as a coordinated effort to strip communities of cultural identity while redistributing art through state and black-market channels.
From Salon ● May 9, 2026
Among older adults, simply redistributing TV time to other daily activities did not significantly change depression rates.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 12, 2026
In particular, a tribal big-man’s role in dividing the meat of pigs slaughtered for feasts points to the role of chiefs in collecting and redistributing food and goods—now reconstrued as tribute—in chiefdoms.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
