ENGLISH
REFERENCE

dispense

v.
C1 Advanced US //dɪˈspɛns// UK //dɪspˈɛns// dis·pense Archaic

v. to give out things to people, like medicine or money. You can also use it when you decide you do not need something anymore.

v. to distribute or provide something, such as goods, services, or information, to a number of people. When followed by 'with', it signifies the act of doing without or getting rid of something.


SIMPLE

The machine will dispense a ticket after you pay.

CONTEXTUAL

The charity began to dispense food and clean water to the families affected by the flood.

COMPLEX

The new management decided to dispense with the traditional hierarchy in favor of a more collaborative and flexible team structure.

Synonyms
Origin

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”).

Usage

The verb is transitive when meaning 'to distribute'. When meaning 'to discard' or 'to do without', it is intransitive and requires the preposition 'with'.

Pitfall

The machine dispenses with coffee.The machine dispenses coffee.Using 'with' changes the meaning to 'getting rid of' or 'doing without'; use the verb alone for the act of giving out a product.

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