dispose
Americanverb (used with object)
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disposes,
present (3rd person singular)
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disposed,
past participle, past
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disposing
present participle
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to give a tendency or inclination to; incline.
His temperament disposed him to argue readily with people.
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to put in a particular or the proper order or arrangement; adjust by arranging the parts.
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to put in a particular or suitable place.
The lamp was disposed on a table nearby.
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to make fit or ready; prepare.
Your words of cheer dispose me for the task.
verb (used without object)
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disposes,
present (3rd person singular)
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disposed,
past participle, past
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disposing
present participle
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to arrange or decide matters.
to do as God disposes.
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Obsolete. to make terms.
noun
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Archaic. disposition; habit.
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Obsolete. arrangement; regulation; disposal.
verb phrase
verb
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to deal with or settle
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to give, sell, or transfer to another
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to throw out or away
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to consume, esp hurriedly
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to kill
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-
to arrange or settle (matters) by placing into correct or final condition
man proposes, God disposes
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(tr) to make willing or receptive
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(tr) to adjust or place in a certain order or position
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to accustom or condition
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disposesimple
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disposessimple
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have disposedperfect
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has disposedperfect
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am disposingprogressive
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are disposingprogressive
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is disposingprogressive
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have been disposingperfect progressive
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has been disposingperfect progressive
Past
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disposedsimple
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had disposedperfect
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was disposingprogressive
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were disposingprogressive
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had been disposingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dispose
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French disposer, equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + poser “to place” ( see pose 1), on the model of Latin dispōnere
Explanation
If you dispose of something, you get rid of it. Don't want that sweatshirt with the clown's face on it? Give it away, throw it out, even sell it — these are all ways to dispose of that awful shirt. The verb dispose comes from the Latin word disponere, meaning “put in order,” “arrange,” or “distribute" — like when you dispose volunteers to collect trash at a park. The word of usually follows dispose when it means "getting rid of something." Another meaning is "make willing or open to something," like your childhood love of reading that disposes you to becoming a life-long reader.
Vocabulary lists containing dispose
Life Is So Good
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Good Riddance
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Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" (1849)
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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:
Over the longer term, Public Bank might dispose its Public Financial stake to unlock value and free up capital, given Hong Kong’s competitive market, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
But it also has a large residential population, who have become increasingly exasperated with tourists who fail to properly dispose of rubbish, smoke where they're not supposed to, and make too much noise.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
The researchers found that tissue-resident macrophages, a type of immune cell that lives permanently within organs, become less able with age to dispose of another class of immune cells.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
Jegede said if the leaves or fruit are too delicate to wash or ash is still visible, it would be best to dispose of the produce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
In the meantime, we still had to dispose of a five-hundred-page manuscript.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Along the way, Mr. Pinsker disposes of some stubborn myths.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
But instead of deciding the case at the end of June when the court ordinarily disposes of the cases heard during the term, the court set the case up for re-argument.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2025
Do they think there is some sort of pickup service that comes along and disposes of their carefully collected excrement?
From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2024
La Mariana said in addition to waste and recycling material, it takes electronic waste and disposes of it for free for residents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
Collectively, the Party owns everything in Oceania, because it controls everything and disposes of the products as it thinks fit.
From "1984" by George Orwell
The office intends to have an environmental contractor remove the lithium batteries, which it says will be properly disposed of.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
After the Second World War ended, the Allies disposed of tons of ammunition by dumping it into the ocean so it could not fall into the wrong hands.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
The anonymous player disposed of the ticket in a shop in Bitonto, southern Italy, after checking his numbers and being told it was "non-payable".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
And California recently enacted a law requiring retailers to manage how clothing waste is disposed of, in a bid to keep clothes from further bloating landfills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
There were demons, after all, who could be kindly disposed.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
In May, posts emerged online accusing refugees of not properly disposing of animals sacrificed during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha and quickly went viral.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Properly collecting and disposing of spent fireworks could help reduce these environmental effects.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 4, 2026
These meanings haven’t been conveyed to the consumer, who, in their confusion, may unintentionally contribute to food waste by disposing of food they believe is spoiled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Merely disposing of the “highly enriched uranium” doesn’t work when enrichment even to the low-seeming 3.67% is already 70% of the way to weapons-grade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
“Tell me,” I asked Nemur, “I just got a look at your incinerator for disposing of experimental animals. What plans have been made for me?”
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
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.
