Distribute Meaning
/dɪˈstɹɪbjuːt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo divide into portions and dispense.
verbTo supply to retail outlets.
Sentence Examples
We would like to distribute your product in Japan.
Newspapers distribute information to the public.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Volunteers will ____ food packages to families displaced by the flood.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We would like to ____ your product in Japan.
Word Origin & History
PIE word *tréyes From Latin distributus, past participle of distribuere (“to divide, distribute”), from dis- (“apart”) + tribuere (“to give, impart”); see tribute.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics."
— 1960 December 26, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:
"Datacasting bypasses the wired, terrestrial Internet and is a cheaper way to distribute software than pressing and mailing CDs."
— 2000, George Abe, Residential Broadband, Cisco Systems, →ISBN:
"The air-handling equipment humidifies, dehumidifies, and distributes the correct amount of fresh air into every zone and eliminates all smoke, dust, and odors, with electric precipitrons."
— 1949, Proceedings of the ... Consolidated Convention of the International Brotherhood of Boiler Makers, Iron Ship Builders, and Helpers of America, page 159:
"With an election not much more than a year away, distributing HS2's money into roads is pork barrel politics. Or at least it would be if the money existed."
— 2023 November 29, Philip Haigh, “Comment: Can we save HS2 to Crewe?”, in RAIL, number 997, page 3:
"A term is said to be distributed when it is taken universal, so as to stand for everything it is capable of being applied to."
— 1826, Richard Whately, Elements of Logic:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Volunteers will ____ food packages to families displaced by the flood.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We would like to ____ your product in Japan.