Dispense Definition
dĭ-spĕns
dispensed, dispenses, dispensing
verb
dispensed, dispenses, dispensing
To give or deal out; distribute.
Webster's New World
To prepare and give out (medicines, prescriptions, etc.)
Webster's New World
To administer.
To dispense the law justly.
Webster's New World
To exempt; excuse.
Webster's New World
To exempt or release, as from a duty or religious obligation.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
noun
(obsolete) Cost, expenditure.
Wiktionary
(obsolete) The act of dispensing, dispensation.
Wiktionary
idiom
dispense with
- to get rid of; do away with
- to do without; manage without
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Dispense
Origin of Dispense
-
Middle English dispensen from Old French dispenser from Latin dispēnsāre to distribute frequentative of dispendere to weigh out dis- out dis– pendere to weigh (s)pen- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From Old French dispenser, from Latin dispensare (“to weight out, pay out, distribute, regulate, manage, control, dispense”), frequentative of dispendere (“to weight out”), from dis- (“apart”) + pendere (“to weigh”).
From Wiktionary
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