Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To divide and dispense in portions.
- intransitive verb To supply (goods) to retailers.
- intransitive verb To deliver or pass out.
- intransitive verb To place in separate pieces or examples over an area; scatter.
- intransitive verb To apportion so as to be evenly spread throughout a given area.
- intransitive verb To separate into categories; classify.
- intransitive verb Logic To use (a term) so as to include all individuals or entities of a given class.
- intransitive verb Mathematics To be distributive. If a × (b + c) = a × b + a × c, then × distributes over +.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To divide or parcel out; allot in shares; bestow in parts or shares, or in due proportion; apportion; divide among several: as, Moses distributed lands to the tribes of Israel; Christ distributed the loaves to his disciples; to distribute justice.
- To separate and put in place or order; arrange by classification or location: as, to
distribute printing-types into their respective boxes (see II., 2); to distribute animals into classes, orders, genera, and species; to distribute the books in a library according to their subjects. - To spread; scatter; disperse.
- To spread out; cover a surface or fill a space with: as, to
distribute ink (that is, spread it evenly and smoothly) on printing-rollers; to distribute manure over a field; to distribute heat in a building. - In logic, to employ in its full extent, as a term
- Synonyms Apportion, Allot, Assign (see
dispense ); partition, portion out. - To classify, arrange, sort, assort, dispose.
- To make distribution; exercise charity.
- In printing, to put dead matter (that, is, composed types that are no longer needed for printing) into the cases, by holding a quantity of it upright in the left hand on a support, and throwing the sepa rate types from a number taken between the thumb and first and second fingers of the right hand into their proper boxes; to “throw in”: as, he distributes rapidly.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To make distribution.
- transitive verb To divide among several or many; to deal out; to apportion; to allot.
- transitive verb To dispense; to administer.
- transitive verb To divide or separate, as into classes, orders, kinds, or species; to classify; to assort, as specimens, letters, etc.
- transitive verb To separate (type which has been used) and return it to the proper boxes in the cases.
- transitive verb To spread (ink) evenly, as upon a roller or a table.
- transitive verb (Logic) To employ (a term) in its whole extent; to take as universal in one premise.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
divide intoportions anddispense . - verb transitive To
supply toretail outlets. - verb transitive To
deliver orpass out . - verb transitive To
scatter orspread . - verb transitive To
apportion (more or lessevenly ). - verb transitive To
classify orseparate intocategories . - verb intransitive, mathematics To be
distributive .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb administer or bestow, as in small portions
- verb distribute or disperse widely
- verb spread throughout a given area
- verb make available
- verb cause to become widely known
- verb be distributed or spread, as in statistical analyses
- verb cause be distributed
- verb be mathematically distributive
- verb to arrange in a systematic order
- verb give to several people
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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According to The Sun, McFly are in the "final" stages of signing to Universal, which will see the label distribute and promote their products overseas.
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Sony settled charges in 2007 brought by the Federal Trade Commission over the incident, which saw the label distribute around 50 music CDs containing "rootkit" software that could open a user's computer to attacks.
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Donaldson also arranged to have a Greek Orthodox chaplain distribute icons and Russian crosses to POWs as part of religious work for the POWs.
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Will the Webb campaign again distribute anti-Semitic fliers in the region?
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To start with, we have an online petition asking Sony to basically get a grip and realise that the music Beatallica distribute is parody, and therefore legal.
- Boing Boing 2005
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Software that costs $5 to make and distribute is sold for $100, 20 times the cost.
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Also, as Palin and McCain play the “let’s google when Obama has ever used the word distribute in the past” game you might also want to take a look at this:
New Obama Ad Hits McCain’s Choice of Palin - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2008
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Still others distribute from a central point once or twice a week, at the subscriber’s convenience.
Tigers & Strawberries » Community Supported Agriculture 2005
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Corbis Warner's record labels distribute classic artists including Led Zeppelin.
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Motion pictures are the most expensive content to create and distribute, which is why movie studios and television networks have been the most aggressive in calling for copy restrictions online.
jeen0809 commented on the word distribute
The chief distributed the land to his people.
March 30, 2007