distribute
[verb]
Synonyms:
- hand out, circulate, convey, deliver, pass round
- share, allocate, allot, apportion, deal, dispense, dole out

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Antonyms: amass, collect
Contrasted words: assemble, gather, accumulate, hoard
Related Words: allocate, allot, apportion, assign, mete (out), parcel, portion, prorate, ration, administer, dribble, bestow, donate, give, present

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English Thesaurus: give, donate, award, present, leave, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

dis‧trib‧ute W2 AC /dɪˈstrɪbjuːt/ verb [transitive]
[Word Family: noun: distribution, distributor; verb: distribute; adjective: distributive]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: distribuere 'to give out', from tribuere 'to give to a particular person']

1. to share things among a group of people, especially in a planned way Synonym : give out
distribute something among/to somebody
Clothes and blankets have been distributed among the refugees.
a man distributing leaflets to passers-by

2. to supply goods to shops and companies so that they can sell them:
Milk is distributed to the local shops by Herald’s Dairies.

3. to spread something over a large area:
Make sure the weight of the load is evenly distributed.

4. be distributed to exist in different parts of an area or group
be widely/evenly distributed
This species of dolphin is widely distributed throughout the world.
The population is distributed in a very uneven pattern.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

distribute
verb
I. give sth out
ADV. equally, fairly | unequally | widely The leaflets have been widely distributed.
free Copies of the book were distributed free to each school in the district.
PREP. among We distributed the money equally among the team members.
between, to distributing aid to people in need

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

distribute
II. spread sth
ADV. evenly, uniformly Wealth is not evenly distributed between age groups.
unevenly | randomly Smokers were randomly distributed in the sample interviewed.
patchily, sparsely
PREP. among, between, throughout There are over 35,000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

give to let someone have something, without expecting to be paid for it:
He was always giving me gifts.
They gave a free drink to all their customers.
donate to give money to an organization that helps people or protects something, or to give your blood or part of your body to save someone’s life:
The company donates 1 per cent of its profits to charity.
70% of people wanted to donate their organs after death.
award to officially give money or a prize to someone:
She was awarded a million dollars in damages.
Hollywood awarded him an Oscar for his performance.
present to formally or officially give something to someone by putting it in their hands, especially at a formal ceremony:
They presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
leave (also bequeath /bɪˈkwiːð, bɪˈkwiːθ/ formal) to officially arrange for someone to have something that you own after your death:
He left most of his property to his wife.
lavish somebody with something/lavish something on somebody formal to give someone a lot of something, especially praise, attention, or gifts:
After his team won, the press lavished him with praise.
confer formal to give someone an honour, a university degree, or the right or power to do something:
the powers conferred on him by Parliament
the highest honor that her country could confer on her
bestow formal to give someone something to show how much they are respected, for example an honour, a title, or a gift – a very formal use:
He was also bestowed the title of ‘Cultural Ambassador of Grenada’.
hand something out/give something out to give something to each of the people in a group:
The teacher handed out the test papers.
I’m going to give out some forms for you to fill in.
distribute to give things to a large number of people, especially in the streets:
Anti-war protesters were distributing leaflets.
share (also share something out British English) to divide something into equal parts and give a part to each person:
They shared the profits among the staff.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

hand something out/give something out to give something to each of the people in a group:
The teacher handed out the test papers.
I’m going to give out some forms for you to fill in.
distribute to give things to a large number of people, especially in the streets:
Anti-war protesters were distributing leaflets.
share (also share something out British English) to divide something into equal parts and give a part to each person:
They shared the profits among the staff.
have/hold/own shares
A lot of the employees own shares in the company.
buy/invest in shares
I bought some shares in British Gas five years ago.
sell shares
This isn’t a good time to sell shares.
trade in/deal in shares (=buy and sell shares as a business)
They make their money by trading in stocks and shares.
shares rise/go up (=their value increases)
The company’s shares rose 5.5p to 103p.
shares fall/go down (=their value decreases)
Shares fell sharply on the London Stock Market yesterday.
share price
The company’s share price has continued to go down.
share ownership
The government tried to encourage wider share ownership.
share dealing (=buying and selling shares as a business)
He was convicted of illegal share dealing.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲