Adjacent Words

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISTRIBUTE, v.t. [L., to give or divide.]
1. To divide among two or more; to deal; to give or bestow in parts or portions. Moses distributed lands to the tribes of Israel. Christ distributed the loaves to his disciples.
2. To dispense; to administer; as, to distribute justice.
3. To divide or separate, as into classes, orders, kinds or species.
4. To give in charity.
Distributing to the necessities of the saints. Romans 12.
5. In printing, to separate types, and place them in their proper cells in the cases.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: administer or bestow, as in small portions; "administer critical remarks to everyone present"; "dole out some money"; "shell out pocket money for the children"; "deal a blow to someone"; "the machine dispenses soft drinks" [syn: distribute, administer, mete out, deal, parcel out, lot, dispense, shell out, deal out, dish out, allot, dole out]
2: distribute or disperse widely; "The invaders spread their language all over the country" [syn: spread, distribute] [ant: collect, garner, gather, pull together]
3: make available; "The publisher wants to distribute the book in Asia"
4: give to several people; "The teacher handed out the exams" [syn: distribute, give out, hand out, pass out]
5: cause be distributed; "This letter is being circulated among the faculty" [syn: circulate, pass around, pass on, distribute]
6: cause to become widely known; "spread information"; "circulate a rumor"; "broadcast the news" [syn: circulate, circularize, circularise, distribute, disseminate, propagate, broadcast, spread, diffuse, disperse, pass around]
7: spread throughout a given area; "the function distributes the values evenly"
8: be distributed or spread, as in statistical analyses; "Values distribute"
9: be mathematically distributive
10: to arrange in a systematic order; "stagger the chairs in the lecture hall" [syn: stagger, distribute]

Merriam Webster's

verb (-uted; -uting) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin distributus, past participle of distribuere, from dis- + tribuere to allot — more at tribute Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. to divide among several or many ; apportion <distribute expenses> 2. a. to spread out so as to cover something ; scatter b. to give out or deliver especially to members of a group <distribute newspapers> <distribute leaflets> c. to place or position so as to be properly apportioned over or throughout an area <200 pounds distributed on a 6-foot frame> d. to use (a term) so as to convey information about every member of the class named <the proposition “all men are mortal” distributes “man” but not “mortal”> 3. a. to divide or separate especially into kinds b. to return the units of (as typeset matter) to storage 4. to use in or as an operation so as to be mathematically distributive intransitive verb to be mathematically distributive <multiplication distributes over addition> • distributee noun Synonyms: distribute, dispense, divide, deal, dole out mean to give out, usually in shares, to each member of a group. distribute implies an apportioning by separation of something into parts, units, or amounts <distributed food to the needy>. dispense suggests the giving of a carefully weighed or measured portion to each of a group according to due or need <dispensed wisdom to the students>. divide stresses the separation of a whole into parts and implies that the parts are equal <three charitable groups divided the proceeds>. deal emphasizes the allotment of something piece by piece <deal out equipment and supplies>. dole out implies a carefully measured portion of something that is often in short supply <doled out what little food there was>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 give shares of; deal out. 2 spread about; scatter (distributed the seeds evenly over the garden). 3 divide into parts; arrange; classify. 4 Printing separate (type that has been set up) and return the characters to their separate boxes. 5 Logic use (a term) to include every individual of the class to which it refers. Derivatives: distributable adj. Etymology: ME f. L distribuere distribut- (as DIS-, tribuere assign)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Distribute Dis*trib"ute, v. i. To make distribution. Distributing to the necessity of saints. --Rom. xii. 13.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Distribute Dis*trib"ute, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distributed; p. pr. & vb. n. Distributing.] [L. distributus, p. p. of distribuere to divide, distribute; dis- + tribuere to assign, give, allot. See Tribute.] 1. To divide among several or many; to deal out; to apportion; to allot. She did distribute her goods to all them that were nearest of kindred. --Judith xvi. 24. 2. To dispense; to administer; as, to distribute justice. --Shak. 3. To divide or separate, as into classes, orders, kinds, or species; to classify; to assort, as specimens, letters, etc. 4. (Printing) (a) To separate (type which has been used) and return it to the proper boxes in the cases. (b) To spread (ink) evenly, as upon a roller or a table. 5. (Logic) To employ (a term) in its whole extent; to take as universal in one premise. A term is said to be distributed when it is taken universal, so as to stand for everything it is capable of being applied to. --Whately. Syn: To dispense; deal out; apportion; allot; share; assign; divide.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(distributes, distributing, distributed) 1. If you distribute things, you hand them or deliver them to a number of people. Students shouted slogans and distributed leaflets... In the move most of the furniture was left to the neighbours or distributed among friends. VERB: V n, be V-ed among n 2. When a company distributes goods, it supplies them to the shops or businesses that sell them. (BUSINESS) We didn't understand how difficult it was to distribute a national paper. VERB: V n 3. If you distribute things among the members of a group, you share them among those members. Immediately after his election he began to distribute major offices among his friends and supporters. = share out VERB: V n among n, also V n 4. To distribute a substance over something means to scatter it over it. (FORMAL) Distribute the topping evenly over the fruit. = scatter VERB: V n over n 5. see also distributed

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Apportion, assign, allot, dispense, mete, divide, share, dole (out), parcel out, deal out, portion out. 2. Classify, class, arrange, assort, dispose.

Moby Thesaurus

administer, align, allocate, allot, apportion, arrange, array, assign, assort, bestow, bestrew, broadcast, categorize, circulate, circumfuse, class, classify, collocate, come across with, compose, convey, deal, deal out, deliver, deliver over, diffract, diffuse, disburse, dish out, dispense, disperse, dispose, dispread, disseminate, diverge, divide, divide up, dole, dole out, donate, dribble, fan out, file, fix, fork over, forward, give, give in, give out, give over, group, hand, hand in, hand out, hand over, issue, line, line up, marshal, measure out, mete, mete out, order, overscatter, oversow, overspread, parcel, parcel out, partition, pass, pass around, pass out, pass over, pay out, place, portion, portion out, present, propagate, prorate, publish, radiate, rally, range, ration, reach, regiment, render, resign, retail, scatter, set out, share out, sort, sow, sow broadcast, space, splay, spoon out, spread, spread out, strew, surrender, transfer, turn over, utter