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

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Hassett said that disbursing these checks would require legislation. —Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025

Federal agents received a tip earlier this month that it was stolen and that a group of men were trying to find a way to deposit it and disburse the funds, agents say. —David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2025

Every dollar spent on preventing extreme hunger saves many more that might have to be disbursed in response to crises. —Arif Husain, Foreign Affairs, 11 Nov. 2025

That's because federal funding for individual Head Start programs cannot be disbursed while the government is shut down. —The Npr Network, NPR, 6 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