disburse

verb

dis·​burse dis-ˈbərs 

disbursed; disbursing

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

Synonyms

• drop
• expend
• fork (over, out, or up)
• give
• lay out
• outlay
• pay
• shell out
• spend

Examples of disburse in a Sentence

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

But more than half of those came from two jurisdictions, with the rest disbursed among the remaining 12. —Jayme Fraser, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024

Meanwhile, the $10,000 reward from the NYPD's Crime Stoppers will require a conviction before it can be disbursed, as the bounty was upped from the usual $3,500 to $10,000 by the New York City Police Foundation, the Associated Press reports. —Ben Brachfeld, People.com, 13 Dec. 2024

The Biden administration is sprinting to finalize the unfinished pieces of its climate policy, from fully disbursing Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds to getting final regulations out the door. —Rachel Frazin, The Hill, 13 Dec. 2024

The donation, to be disbursed over five years, will be focused on healthcare, education, ecology and the arts. —Rana Wehbe Watson, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

disburse

verb

dis·​burse dis-ˈbərs 

disbursed; disbursing

: to pay out : expend

disburse money

disburser noun

Etymology

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