dole out

verb

doled out; doling out; doles out

transitive verb

1

: to give or deliver in small portions

2

: dish out

Synonyms

• administer
• allocate
• apportion
• deal (out)
• dispense
• distribute
• hand out
• mete (out)
• parcel (out)
• portion
• prorate

Choose the Right Synonym for dole out

distribute, dispense, divide, deal, dole out mean to give out, usually in shares, to each member of a group.

distribute implies an apportioning by separation of something into parts, units, or amounts.

distributed food to the needy

dispense suggests the giving of a carefully weighed or measured portion to each of a group according to due or need.

dispensed wisdom to the students

divide stresses the separation of a whole into parts and implies that the parts are equal.

three charitable groups divided the proceeds

deal emphasizes the allotment of something piece by piece.

deal out equipment and supplies

dole out implies a carefully measured portion of something that is often in short supply.

doled out what little food there was

Examples of dole out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Of all the golden nuggets of advice doled out, one in particular rang true. —Freya Drohan, Vogue, 9 Apr. 2024

The asking price is an impressive $20 million—or around $12 million more than the 11-time champ doled out for the beachfront digs seven years ago, back in spring 2017. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024

Prior to this rule change, the only way college athletes were compensated for their play was through scholarships doled out by individual schools and complied with Title IX regulations to ensure equitable application across gender. —Katie Lauer, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024

More on the Israel-Hamas war: World Central Kitchen has been one of the chief suppliers of food to Gaza, doling out 43 million meals while coordinating with the Israeli military. —Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024

But schools participating in the program are no longer collecting applications for free and reduced meals, a metric that the Montgomery schools district has traditionally relied on to measure poverty at schools and dole out Title I money. —Nicole Asbury, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024

Tech behemoths are on an AI spending spree, doling out billions to invest in, poach from, and gobble up smaller companies developing the world’s artificial intelligence technology. —Laura Bratton, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024

The widespread job-switching in some fields is noteworthy because those struggling with high turnover generally are doling out bigger pay increases, both to hire the job-hoppers and hold on to existing employees. —Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024

The Chinese government loosened longstanding curbs on foreign ownership of companies and doled out lucrative incentives ahead of Tesla setting up its Shanghai Gigafactory. —John Liu, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1749, in the meaning defined at sense 1