dispense
Use Dispense in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
to deal out; distribute: to dispense wisdom.
2.
to administer: to dispense the law without bias.
3.
Pharmacology. to make up and distribute (medicine), especially on prescription.
4.
Roman Catholic Church. to grant dispensation.
verb (used without object)
5.
to grant dispensation.
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Dispense
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noun
Verb phrases 6.
Obsolete, expenditure.
7.
dispense with,
a.
to do without; forgo: to dispense with preliminaries.
b.
to do away with; rid of.
c.
to grant exemption from a law or promise.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English dispensen < Medieval Latin dispēnsāre to pardon, exempt, Latin: to pay out, distribute, equivalent to dis- dis-1 + pēnsāre, frequentative of pendere to weigh
1275–1325; Middle English dispensen < Medieval Latin dispēnsāre to pardon, exempt, Latin: to pay out, distribute, equivalent to dis- dis-1 + pēnsāre, frequentative of pendere to weigh
Related forms
un·dis·pensed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To Dispense
Collins
World English Dictionary
dispense (dɪˈspɛns) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (foll by with) | |
| 1. | (tr) to give out or issue in portions |
| 2. | (tr) to prepare and distribute (medicine), esp on prescription |
| 3. | (tr) to administer (the law, etc) |
| 4. | to do away (with) or manage (without) |
| 5. | to grant a dispensation to (someone) from (some obligation of church law) |
| 6. | to exempt or excuse from a rule or obligation |
| usage Dispense with is sometimes wrongly used where dispose of is meant: this task can be disposed of (not dispensed with) quickly and easily | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
dispense
early 14c., from O.Fr. dispenser "give out," from L. dispensare "disburse, administer, distribute (by weight)," frequentative of dispendere "pay out," from dis- "out" + pendere "to pay, weigh" (see pendant). In M.L., dispendere was used in the ecclesiastical sense of "grant
license to do what is forbidden or omit what is required" (a power of popes, bishops, etc.), and thus acquired a sense of "grant remission from punishment or exemption from law," which led to the Mod.Eng. meaning. Older sense is preserved in dispensary. Related: Dispensed; dispensing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
dispense dis·pense (dĭ-spěns')
v. dis·pensed, dis·pens·ing, dis·pens·es
To prepare and give out medicines.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
He distributes a clinic-in-a-box, a portable supply of medicine that people in isolated villages are trained to dispense.
The scientific method will naturally dispense with theories whose predictions do not pan out.
Some salon workers dispense it to clients who go in for facials.
Another option is to dispense with feeder cells altogether.
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