dispense
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to give out or provide something to a group of people.
to distribute or provide a service or information to a number of people.
Simple“The machine in the lobby will dispense fresh water for free.”
In context“The charity set up a temporary station to dispense emergency supplies and clean water to the residents affected by the flood.”
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
to prepare and give out medicine, usually in a pharmacy.
to prepare and distribute medical prescriptions or pharmaceutical products.
Simple“The pharmacist will dispense your medication once the doctor signs the form.”
In context“Hospital regulations require two staff members to be present when the pharmacy team dispenses controlled substances to the wards.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
to give out justice or apply laws to a situation.
to administer or execute laws, justice, or punishments.
Simple“The judge's job is to dispense justice fairly to everyone.”
In context“The tribunal was established to dispense justice in cases where local courts were deemed to have a conflict of interest.”
Synonyms - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
to stop using something or decide you do not need it.
to manage without or get rid of something; always used with the preposition 'with'.
Simple“Since we have the new software, we can dispense with the paper files.”
In context“The chairman suggested that they dispense with the formal introductions to save time for the actual debate.”
UsageAlways takes the preposition 'with' in this sense.
PitfallWe can dispense the old rules. We can dispense with the old rules.When you mean 'to get rid of' or 'do without', you must use the preposition 'with'.
“Then in April this year, authorities noticed that young people had switched to another drug and imposed tighter controls on how it is prescribed and dispensed at chemists.”
“He thinks the people who visit twice a day are nurses, legally required to dispense his dementia medication.”
From Middle English, from Old French dispenser, from Latin dispēnsāre (“to weigh out, pay out, distribute, regulate, manage, control, dispense”), frequentative of dispendere (“to weigh out”), from dis- (“apart”) + pendere (“to weigh”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.