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

• drop
• expend
• fork (over, out, or up)
• give
• lay out
• outlay
• pay
• shell out
• spend

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

Part of the funds will be disbursed when the plan becomes effective and the rest will be paid on a tiered schedule, depending on the outcome of negotiations with insurers. —Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025

Last year, Congress appropriated $4.1 billion for the effort, and HHS disbursed 90 percent of the funds. —Naveena Sadasivam, Wired News, 19 Apr. 2025

As for the $300 million investment, the money is being disbursed over several years, following recommendations from a special commission. —Aaron Bolton, NPR, 16 Apr. 2025

While there are some questions as to the fairness of the $2.6 billion damages calculation and how it will be disbursed, former athletes who disagree with it can opt out of the settlement and preserve their right to sue. —Joe Sabin, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 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