distribute

dis·trib·ute  (d-strbyt)

v. dis·trib·ut·ed, dis·trib·ut·ing, dis·trib·utes

v.tr.

1. To divide and dispense in portions.

2.

a. To supply (goods) to retailers.

b. To deliver or pass out: distributing handbills on the street.

3.

a. To spread or diffuse over an area; scatter: distribute grass seed over the lawn.

b. To apportion so as to be evenly spread throughout a given area: 180 pounds of muscle that were well distributed over his 6-foot frame.

4. To separate into categories; classify.

5. Logic To use (a term) so as to include all individuals or entities of a given class.

v.intr.

Mathematics To be distributive.

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[Middle English distributen, from Latin distribuere, distribt- : dis-, apart; see dis- + tribuere, to give; see tribute.]

Synonyms: distribute, divide, dispense, dole¹, deal¹, ration
These verbs mean to give out in portions or shares. Distribute is the least specific: The government distributed land to settlers.
Divide implies giving out portions, often equal, on the basis of a plan or purpose: The estate will be divided among the heirs.
Dispense stresses the careful determination of portions, often according to measurement or weight: The pharmacist dispensed the medication.
Dole, often followed by out, implies careful, usually sparing measurement of portions. It can refer to the distribution of charity: The city doled out surplus milk to the needy.
It can also suggest lack of generosity: The professor doled out meager praise to the students.
Deal implies orderly, equitable distribution, often piece by piece: I dealt five cards to each player.
Ration refers to equitable division in limited portions of scarce, often necessary, items: The government rationed fuel during the war.

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distribute

Verb

[-uting, -uted]

1. to hand out or deliver (leaflets, mail, etc.)

2. to share (something) among the members of a particular group [Latin distribuere]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	distribute - 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" deal out, dish out, dispense, dole out, mete out, parcel out, shell out, lot, administer, allot, deal give - transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody; "I gave her my money"; "can you give me lessons?"; "She gave the children lots of love and tender loving care" allot, portion, assign - give out; "We were assigned new uniforms" reallot - allot again; "They were realloted additional farm land" deal - distribute cards to the players in a game; "Who's dealing?" apply, give - give or convey physically; "She gave him First Aid"; "I gave him a punch in the nose"
	2.	distribute - distribute or disperse widely; "The invaders spread their language all over the country" spread generalise, generalize - become systemic and spread throughout the body; "this kind of infection generalizes throughout the immune system" metastasise, metastasize - spread throughout the body; "the cancer had metastasized and the patient could not be saved" discharge - pour forth or release; "discharge liquids" strew, straw - spread by scattering ("straw" is archaic); "strew toys all over the carpet" export - cause to spread in another part of the world; "The Russians exported Marxism to Africa" propagate - transmit or cause to broaden or spread; "This great civilization was propagated throughout the land" deploy - to distribute systematically or strategically; "The U.S. deploys its weapons in the Middle East" redistribute - distribute anew; "redistribute the troops more strategically" sprawl, straggle - go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way; "Branches straggling out quite far" diffuse, fan out, spread out, spread - move outward; "The soldiers fanned out"
	3.	distribute - make available; "The publisher wants to distribute the book in Asia" transfer - cause to change ownership; "I transferred my stock holdings to my children" issue, supply - circulate or distribute or equip with; "issue a new uniform to the children"; "supply blankets for the beds" reticulate - distribute by a network, as of water or electricity
	4.	distribute - give to several people; "The teacher handed out the exams" hand out, pass out, give out gift, present, give - give as a present; make a gift of; "What will you give her for her birthday?" divvy up, portion out, apportion, share, deal - give out as one's portion or share
	5.	distribute - cause be distributed; "This letter is being circulated among the faculty" pass around, circulate, pass on move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant" send around - forward to others; "he is sending around an appeal for funds" utter - put into circulation; "utter counterfeit currency" spread out, scatter, spread - strew or distribute over an area; "He spread fertilizer over the lawn"; "scatter cards across the table"
	6.	distribute - cause to become widely known; "spread information"; "circulate a rumor"; "broadcast the news" disseminate, pass around, circulate, diffuse, broadcast, circularise, circularize, spread, propagate, disperse publicize, bare, publicise, air - make public; "She aired her opinions on welfare" podcast - distribute (multimedia files) over the internet for playback on a mobile device or a personal computer sow - introduce into an environment; "sow suspicion or beliefs" circulate, go around, spread - become widely known and passed on; "the rumor spread"; "the story went around in the office" popularise, popularize, vulgarise, vulgarize, generalise, generalize - cater to popular taste to make popular and present to the general public; bring into general or common use; "They popularized coffee in Washington State"; "Relativity Theory was vulgarized by these authors" carry, run - include as the content; broadcast or publicize; "We ran the ad three times"; "This paper carries a restaurant review"; "All major networks carried the press conference"
	7.	distribute - spread throughout a given area; "the function distributes the values evenly" spread out, scatter, spread - strew or distribute over an area; "He spread fertilizer over the lawn"; "scatter cards across the table" distribute - be distributed or spread, as in statistical analyses; "Values distribute"
	8.	distribute - be distributed or spread, as in statistical analyses; "Values distribute" exist, be - have an existence, be extant; "Is there a God?" distribute - spread throughout a given area; "the function distributes the values evenly"
	9.	distribute - be mathematically distributive be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"
	10.	distribute - to arrange in a systematic order; "stagger the chairs in the lecture hall" stagger arrange, set up - put into a proper or systematic order; "arrange the books on the shelves in chronological order"

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distribute

verb 1. hand out, dispense, give out, dish out (informal) disseminate, deal out, disburse, pass round

verb 2. circulate, deliver, convey

verb 3. share, give, deal, divide, assign, administer, allocate, dispose, dispense, allot, mete out, dole out, apportion, measure out

verb 4. spread, scatter, disperse, diffuse, disseminate, strew

Translations

distribute [dɪsˈtrɪbjuːt] vt (gen) → distribuir (= share out); repartir

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distribute [dɪsˈtrɪbjuːt] vt → distribuer

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distribute [dɪsˈtrɪbjuːt] vt → verteilen;

(profits) → aufteilen

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distribute [dɪsˈtrɪbjuːt] vt → distribuire

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distribute

v distribute [diˈstribjut]

1 to divide (something) among several (people); to deal out He distributed sweets to all the children in the class. uitdeel, verdeel, versprei يُوَزِّع разпределям rozdat, rozdělit uddele; omdele verteilen μοιράζω repartir, distribuir jaotama توزیع کردن؛ پخش کردن jakaa partager, vendre לְחָלֶק बाटना, वितरण करना, विभाग करना podijeliti kioszt membagikan úthluta distribuire 分配する 나누어 주다 dalinti, skirstyti []dalīt; sadalīt agih uitdelen dele ut, fordele rozprowadzać, rozdzielać, rozdawać distribuir a împărţi, a distribui раздавать rozdať razdeliti podeliti dela ut แจกจ่าย paylaştırmak, dağıtmak 分配 розподіляти, роздавати تقسیم کرنا phân phát 分配

2 to spread out widely Our shops are distributed all over the city. versprei مُوَزَّع، مُنْتَشِر разпръсквам rozmístit, rozšířit fordele; sprede ud verteilen σκορπίζω distribuir levitama پراکنده بودن؛ پخش بودن levittäytyä répandre לְפָזֶר अलग-अलग बांटना, अलग-अलग करना razdijeliti eloszt menyebar dreifa distribuire 分布させる 널리 퍼뜨리다, 분포시키다 išsibarstyti, paplisti izplatīt sebarkan verspreiden spre ut, distribuere rozmieszczać distribuir a răspândi, a împrăştia рассредоточивать rozmiestniť razporediti distribuirati kringsprida เผยแพร่ yayılmak 散佈 поширювати وسیع پیمانے پر منتشر ہونا phân tán 散布

n distriˈbution [-ˈbjuː-]

distribusie, verspreiding تَوْزيع разпределяне rozdělování, rozdání distribution; fordeling; uddeling die Verteilung διανομή, κατανομή distribución jaotamine توزیع؛ پراکندگی jakaminen distribution תְּפוּצָה, חָלוּקָה वितरण, बांट raspodjela, razdjela elosztás pembagian úthlutun; dreifing distribuzione 分配 분배, 분포 skirstymas, dalinimas izdalīšana; sadale; izplatība pengagihan verspreiding fordeling, utdeling, distribuering dystrybucja, rozkład distribuição distribuire распределение distribúcia razdelitev; razporeditev distribucija utdelning, distribution การแจกจ่าย dağıtım, dağıtma, yayılma 分佈 розподіл; поширення تقسیم sự phân phát 分布