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

Sony did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment on plans to disburse any refunds to customers. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2026

Hours later Thursday morning, the European Union disbursed $4 billion to Ukraine to finance the procurement of more drones, missiles, air defense and fighter jets, according to the European Commission. — Eric MacK, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026

The funds weren’t disbursed until June 2026; two years and two months after the request was made. — Susanne Rust follow, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

Each grantee is required to submit regular reports of how the money was spent and what kind of progress was seen to make sure it's fairly disbursed to all sectors of the community in need. — Ashley Paul, CBS News, 29 July 2026

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