Definition of distribution
1a : the act or process of distributing the distribution of leaflets profit distribution the distribution of weight
2a : the position, arrangement, or frequency of occurrence (as of the members of a group) over an area or throughout a space or unit of time
the distribution of the country's population
b biology : the natural geographic range of an organism
3a : something distributed
charitable distributions : such as
(1) : a sum of money withdrawn from a fund (such as a retirement fund) and given to the beneficiary (see beneficiary sense 2b) or holder of the fund
(2) : dividend sense 1a
4 anatomy : the pattern of branching and termination (see termination sense 4) of a ramifying structure (such as a nerve)
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Test Your Vocabulary
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
- What is an earlier meaning of nice?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Anagram puzzles meet word search.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
Do you know these earlier meanings of words?
Take the quizWords of Snow and Ice Quiz
A selection of words from the chillier parts of t...
Take the quizSpell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quizSCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!
Play the game
Share distribution
Time Traveler for distribution
The first known use of distribution was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century