disburse
verb (used with object), dis·bursed, dis·burs·ing.
Origin of disburse
OTHER WORDS FROM disburse
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH disburse
disburse disperseWords nearby disburse
VOCAB BUILDER
What does disburse mean?
Disburse most commonly means to pay out money.
Disburse is typically used in the context of finance and business—especially when the exchange of money is formal.
The noun form of disburse is disbursement, meaning the act of paying out money, or the payment itself.
Disburse can also mean to distribute or scatter, but this sense is much less commonly used. (This sense sounds a lot like and means just about the same thing as disperse.)
Example: The staff is upset because payroll hasn’t disbursed paychecks yet due to a clerical error.
Where does disburse come from?
The first records of the word disburse come from around 1530. It comes from combining des (meaning “apart”) and bourse (meaning “purse”—a bag used to carry money). The same root is used in the more common term reimburse.
The modern financial use of disburse often refers to something quite specific—paying from a particular fund or account, often in the context of a business, charity, scholarship, or other formalized type of payment. To disburse is often to release money from one account to another. It’s typically only used in formal financial contexts, especially an institution making a payment to an individual. You wouldn’t use disburse when paying a friend back after splitting dinner—you’d just say pay or pay back or reimburse. If the thing being given out or provided is not financial or money-related (like food, for example), you’d probably use a word like distribute, not disburse.
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What are some other forms related to disburse?
- disbursement (noun)
What are some synonyms for disburse?
What are some words that share a root or word element with disburse?
What are some words that often get used in discussing disburse?
What are some words disburse may be commonly confused with?
How is disburse used in real life?
Disburse tends to be used in formal situations, such as scheduled payments or other financial transactions, especially those involving institutions.
The @SBAgov encourages all approved lenders to process loan applications previously submitted by eligible borrowers and disburse funds expeditiously.
— Jovita Carranza, SBA (@SBAJovita) April 24, 2020
"all the loans" isn't quite correct when the money has run out and a lot of small businesses had their applications ignored. the job here was not to just effectively disburse money, it is to help small businesses who need it. and *that* remains undone. https://t.co/24V0Jp2I2O
— Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) April 17, 2020
@NC_Governor: The Department has also received updated guidance from the federal government on how to disburse the supplemental $600 a week benefit. Those payments are expected to begin by the end of next week. Time is critical and precious for those who are out of work.
— NCDHHS (@ncdhhs) April 9, 2020
Try using disburse!
Is disburse used correctly in the following sentence?
The contract says that they will disburse payments on the first of the month.