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 of disburse

• pay
• spend
• give

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

Prosecutors said the organization obtained and disbursed more than $240 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds. —Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025

Social Security benefits are typically disbursed to its nearly 74 million beneficiaries on Wednesdays, but your exact payment date depends on your birthdate. —Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 1 Dec. 2025

After disbursing some of the proceeds to half siblings, the twins each walked away with $700,000. —Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 30 Nov. 2025

So Joe met with the doctors every day and took charge of disbursing Paul’s medical information to our big, grieving family. —Christina Kovac, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025

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

Rhymes for disburse

• adverse
• averse
• coerce
• disperse
• diverse
• immerse
• inverse
• obverse
• perverse
• rehearse
• reverse
• transverse

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