Main Entry: dis·tri·bu·tion

Pronunciation: \ˌdis-trə-ˈbyü-shən\

Function: noun

Date: 14th century

1 a : the act or process of distributing b : the apportionment by a court of the personal property of an intestate
2 a : the position, arrangement, or frequency of occurrence (as of the members of a group) over an area or throughout a space or unit of time b : the natural geographic range of an organism
3 a : something distributed: as (1) : a sum of money withdrawn from a fund (as a retirement fund) and given to the beneficiary or holder of the fund (2) : dividend 1a b (1) : frequency distribution (2) : probability function (3) : probability density function 2
4 : the pattern of branching and termination of a ramifying structure (as a nerve)
5 : the marketing or merchandising of commodities

— dis·tri·bu·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-n^əl\ adjective