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release - 12 dictionary results

re-lease

  [ree-lees] verb, -leased, -leas⋅ing, noun
Use release in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to lease again.
2. Law. to make over (land, property, etc.), as to another.
–noun
3. a contract for re-leasing land or property.
4. the land or property re-leased.
Origin:
1820–30; re- + lease

re⋅lease

  [ri-lees] verb, -leased, -leas⋅ing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to free from confinement, bondage, obligation, pain, etc.; let go: to release a prisoner; to release someone from a debt.
2. to free from anything that restrains, fastens, etc.: to release a catapult.
3. to allow to be known, issued, done, or exhibited: to release an article for publication.
4. Law. to give up, relinquish, or surrender (a right, claim, etc.).
–noun
5. a freeing or releasing from confinement, obligation, pain, emotional strain, etc.
6. liberation from anything that restrains or fastens.
7. some device or agency for effecting such liberation.
8. a grant of permission, as to publish, use, or sell something.
9. the releasing of something for publication, performance, use, exhibition, or sale.
10. the film, book, record, etc., that is released.
11. press release.
12. Law.
a. the surrender of a right or the like to another.
b. a document embodying such a surrender.
13. Law Obsolete. a remission, as of a debt, tax, or tribute.
14. Machinery.
a. a control mechanism for starting or stopping a machine, esp. by removing some restrictive apparatus.
b. the opening of an exhaust port or valve at or near the working stroke of an engine so that the working fluid can be exhausted on the return stroke.
c. the point in the stroke of an engine at which the exhaust port or valve is opened.
15. (in jazz or popular music) a bridge.
Origin:
1250–1300; (v.) ME reles(s)en < OF relesser, relaissier < L relaxāre to loosen (see relax ); (n.) ME reles(e) < OF reles, relais, deriv. of relesser, relaisser

Related forms:
re⋅leas⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
re⋅leas⋅a⋅ble, re⋅leas⋅i⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
1. loose, deliver. Release, free, dismiss, discharge, liberate, emancipate may all mean to set at liberty, let loose, or let go. Release and free, when applied to persons, suggest a helpful action. Both may be used (not always interchangeably) of delivering a person from confinement or obligation: to free or release prisoners. Free (less often, release) is also used for delivering a person from pain, sorrow, etc.: to free from fear. Dismiss, meaning to send away, usually has the meaning of forcing to go unwillingly (to dismiss a servant), but may refer to giving permission to go: The teacher dismissed the class early. Discharge, meaning originally to relieve of a burden (to discharge a gun), has come to refer to that which is sent away, and is often a close synonym to dismiss; it is used in the meaning permit to go in connection with courts and the armed forces: The court discharged a man accused of robbery. Liberate and emancipate, more formal synonyms for release and free, also suggest action intended to be helpful. Liberate suggests particularly the release from unjust punishment, oppression, and the like, and often means to set free through forcible action or military campaign: They liberated the prisoners, the occupied territories, etc. Emancipate also suggests a release of some size and consequence, but one that is less overt, a more formal or legal freedom; and it sometimes connotes an inner liberation: Lincoln emancipated the slaves. John emancipated himself. 2. loose, extricate, disengage. 3. announce, publish. 5. liberation, deliverance, emancipation.

Antonyms:
1. bind. 2. fasten.

press release

 
–noun
a statement prepared and distributed to the press by a public relations firm, governmental agency, etc.
Also called news release, release.

Origin:
1955–60
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To release
re·lease   (rĭ-lēs')   
tr.v.   re·leased, re·leas·ing, re·leas·es
  1. To set free from confinement, restraint, or bondage: released the prisoners.
  2. To free from something that binds, fastens, or holds back; let go: released the balloons; released a flood of questions.
  3. To dismiss, as from a job.
  4. To relieve of debt or obligation.
  5. To relieve of care and suffering.
    1. To issue for performance, sale, publication, or distribution.
    2. To make known or available.
  7. To relinquish (a right or claim).
n.  
  1. A deliverance or liberation, as from confinement, restraint, or suffering.
  2. An authoritative discharge, as from an obligation or from prison.
  3. An unfastening or letting go of something caught or held fast.
  4. A device or catch for locking or releasing a mechanism.
    1. The act or an instance of issuing something for publication, use, or distribution.
    2. Something thus released: a new release of a software program.
    3. The condition of being available, in use, or in publication: a movie in wide release.
    4. Relinquishment to another of a right, title, or claim.
    5. The document authorizing such relinquishment.
  6. Law
    1. Relinquishment to another of a right, title, or claim.
    2. The document authorizing such relinquishment.
  7. Linguistics The movement of a vocal organ or organs so as to end the closure of a stop consonant.

[Middle English relesen, from Old French relaissier, alteration of relacher, from Latin relaxāre; see relax.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Release

Re*lease"\, n. 1. (Mach.) A device adapted to hold or release a device or mechanism as required; specif.: (Elec.) A catch on a motor-starting rheostat, which automatically releases the rheostat arm and so stops the motor in case of a break in the field circuit; also, the catch on an electromagnetic circuit breaker for a motor, which acts in case of an overload.

2. (Phon.) The act or manner of ending a sound.

3. (Railroads) In the block-signaling system, a printed card conveying information and instructions to be used at intermediate sidings without telegraphic stations.

Release

Re*lease"\ (r?-l?s"), v. t. [Pref. re + lease to let.] To lease again; to grant a new lease of; to let back.

Release

Re*lease"\ (r?-l?s"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Released (r?*l?st"); p. pr. & vb. n. Releasing.] [OE. relessen, OF. relassier, to release, to let free. See Relay, n., Relax, and cf. Release to lease again.]

1. To let loose again; to set free from restraint, confinement, or servitude; to give liberty to, or to set at liberty; to let go.

Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. --Mark xv. 6.

2. To relieve from something that confines, burdens, or oppresses, as from pain, trouble, obligation, penalty.

3. (Law) To let go, as a legal claim; to discharge or relinquish a right to, as lands or tenements, by conveying to another who has some right or estate in possession, as when the person in remainder releases his right to the tenant in possession; to quit.

4. To loosen; to relax; to remove the obligation of; as, to release an ordinance. [Obs.] --Hooker.

A sacred vow that none should aye release. --Spenser.

Syn: To free; liberate; loose; discharge; disengage; extricate; let go; quit; acquit.

Release

Re*lease"\, n. 1. The act of letting loose or freeing, or the state of being let loose or freed; liberation or discharge from restraint of any kind, as from confinement or bondage. "Who boast'st release from hell." --Milton.

2. Relief from care, pain, or any burden.

3. Discharge from obligation or responsibility, as from debt, penalty, or claim of any kind; acquittance.

4. (Law) A giving up or relinquishment of some right or claim; a conveyance of a man's right in lands or tenements to another who has some estate in possession; a quitclaim. --Blackstone.

5. (Steam Engine) The act of opening the exhaust port to allow the steam to escape.

Lease and release. (Law) See under Lease.

Out of release, without cessation. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Syn: Liberation; freedom; discharge. See Death.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : release
Spanish: liberar,
German: entlassen,
Japanese: 釈放する
More Translations »

release  (v.)
1297, "to withdraw, revoke," also "to liberate" (c.1300), from O.Fr. relaisser "to relinquish, quit, let go, leave behind," variant of relacher "release, relax," from L. relaxare (see relax). Meaning "relinquish, surrender" is recorded from 1390. Of press reports, attested from 1904; of motion pictures, from 1912; of music recordings, from 1962. As a euphemism for "to dismiss, fire from a job" it is attested in Amer.Eng. since 1904. The noun is attested from c.1315, from O.Fr. reles (12c.), a back-formation from relesser, relaisser.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: re·lease
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: re·leased; re·leas·ing
1 a : to relieve or free from obligation, liability, or responsibility released from all dischargeable debts> b : to give up (a claim, title, or right) to the benefit of another person : SURRENDER
2 : to set free from confinement released on personal recognizance>

Main Entry: release
Function: noun
1 a : discharge from an obligation or responsibility that bars a cause of action release of the school for any negligence> b : the giving up or renunciation of a right or claim that bars a cause of action release of the remainder of the debt>
NOTE: A release may in some situations require consideration in order to be valid. A release of one joint obligor sometimes is considered to release all the obligors.
2 : an act or instrument that effects a release release issued by the insurer> called also release of all claims —compare HOLD HARMLESS
3 : the act or instance of freeing esp. from custody
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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release programming
(Or "released version", "baseline") A version of a piece of software which has been made public (as opposed to a version that is in development, or otherwise unreleased).
A release is either a major release, a revision, or a bugfix.
Pre-release versions may be called alpha test, or beta test versions.
See change management.
(1996-08-04)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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