release

1. 1.

   release, as from one's grip

   “Let go of the door handle, please!”

   “relinquish your grip on the rope--you won't fall”

   Synonymslet go oflet gorelinquish

   Narrowerdischargeunclasppoptoggleunhandbring outunleashdisengage
2. 2.

   grant freedom to; free from confinement

   Synonymsfreeliberateunlooseunloosenloose

   Narrowerunspellunchainbailrunbail outparole
3. 3.

   let (something) fall or spill from a container

   “turn the flour onto a plate”

   Synonymsturn

   Broadertransmit

   Narrowerdeflatethrow
4. 4.

   prepare and issue for public distribution or sale

   “publish a magazine or newspaper”

   Synonymspublishbring output outissue

   Broaderpublicize

   Narroweredit
5. 5.

   eliminate (a substance)

   “combustion products are exhausted in the engine”

   “the plant releases a gas”

   Synonymsexhaustdischargeexpeleject

   Narrowerexpectorateblowejaculateabortovulateexcrete
6. 6.

   generate and separate from cells or bodily fluids

   “secrete digestive juices”

   “release a hormone into the blood stream”

   Synonymssecrete

   Broaderexude

   Narrowerwater
7. 7.

   make (information) available for publication

   “release the list with the names of the prisoners”

   Synonymsfree

   Broaderissue

   Narrowerdeclassify
8. 8.

   part with a possession or right

   “I am relinquishing my bedroom to the long-term house guest”

   “resign a claim to the throne”

   Synonymsrelinquishresignfreegive up

   Broaderpass

   Narrowerderequisitionsacrifice
9. 9.

   release (gas or energy) as a result of a chemical reaction or physical decomposition

   Synonymsfreeliberate

   Broadergenerate

   chemistry

10. 10.

    make (assets) available

    “release the holdings in the dictator's bank account”

    Synonymsunblockunfreezefree

    Broaderissue

Other forms of release

plural

releases·

past tense

released·

present participle

releasing·

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.

Questions about release

What does release mean?

release means "merchandise issued for sale or public showing (especially a record or film)". That is the primary sense; the word has 22 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in release?

release has 2 syllables: re-lease. The stress falls on "lease". In IPA it is /ɹiˈlis/.

What is another word for release?

Close synonyms include liberation, freeing, handout, press release, dismissal. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is release a common word?

release is banded "Core" — among the few thousand words that carry most english. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

What rhymes with release?

3 words rhyme with release. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.