disburse

1 of 2

verb

dis·​burse dis-ˈbərs How to pronounce disburse (audio)
disbursed; disbursing
Synonyms of disbursenext

transitive verb

1
a
: to pay out : expend especially from a fund
disburse money
b
: to make a payment in settlement of
disburse a bill
2
: distribute
disburser noun

disburser

2 of 2

noun

dis·​burs·​er
-sə(r)
plural -s
: one that disburses
foundations and others disbursers of research money should deal directly with universities—S. E. Harris

Synonyms of disburse

Relevance

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of disburse in a Sentence

Verb The money will be disbursed on the basis of need. The government has disbursed millions of dollars in foreign aid.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
The first tranche of the $4-billion payout — which amounts to roughly $600 million — is set to be disbursed to victims in the next week. — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026 The grant has yet to be disbursed to Spring Grove and, according to the Hartford mayor’s office, because it hasn’t been transmitted from the state. — Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2026 The program includes $25 billion to be disbursed equally among all 50 states, regardless of each state’s size or population. — Kevin J. Bennett, The Conversation, 25 June 2026 Prize will be disbursed within a reasonable time after sweepstakes closing and prize winner acceptance, subject to coordination with the applicable prize providers and prize element providers. — AJC.com, 18 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for disburse

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle French desbourser, from Old French desborser, from des- dis- + borse purse, from Medieval Latin bursa

First Known Use

Verb

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of disburse was in 1530

Rhymes for disburse

See All Rhymes for disburse

Browse Nearby Words

disbursal
disburse
disbursement
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Disburse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disburse. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

disburse

verb
dis·​burse dis-ˈbərs How to pronounce disburse (audio)
disbursed; disbursing
: to pay out : expend
disburse money
disburser noun
Etymology

Verb

from early French desbourser "to pay out money," from des- "out, away" and borse "a purse," from Latin bursa "a small leather bag" — related to purse, reimburse

More from Merriam-Webster on disburse

Nglish: Translation of disburse for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All