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say it: di-STRI-byoot
distribute is a verb meaning "administer or bestow, as in small portions". It carries 10 recorded senses.
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”
distribute or disperse widely
“The invaders spread their language all over the country”
make available
“The publisher wants to distribute the book in Asia”
cause to be distributed
“This letter is being circulated among the faculty”
cause to become widely known
“spread information”
“circulate a rumor”
“broadcast the news”
be mathematically distributive
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for distribute come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.