dole out

verb

doled out; doling out; doles out

transitive verb

1

: to give or deliver in small portions

2

: dish out

Synonyms

• distribute
• dispense
• provide
• deal (out)
• hand out
• allocate
• divide

Choose the Right Synonym for dole out

distribute, dispense, divide, deal, dole out mean to give out, usually in shares, to each member of a group.

distribute implies an apportioning by separation of something into parts, units, or amounts.

distributed food to the needy

dispense suggests the giving of a carefully weighed or measured portion to each of a group according to due or need.

dispensed wisdom to the students

divide stresses the separation of a whole into parts and implies that the parts are equal.

three charitable groups divided the proceeds

deal emphasizes the allotment of something piece by piece.

deal out equipment and supplies

dole out implies a carefully measured portion of something that is often in short supply.

doled out what little food there was

Examples of dole out in a Sentence

she doles out office supplies as if she were paying for them out of her own pocket

Recent Examples on the Web

And there were plenty of smaller prizes doled out too, 124 tickets that won $50,000 prizes and 25 tickets won $150,000 prizes. —Joyce Orlando, Nashville Tennessean, 1 Sep. 2025

Fernandes Anderson doled out a $13,000 bonus to one of her Council staffers, a relative but not an immediate family member, on the condition that $7,000 be kicked back to her. —Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025

The Sanseito party tapped into these frustrations on the campaign trail – doling out rhetoric that some critics called inflammatory and xenophobic. —Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2025

More than $250M in incentives were doled out today across 22 series that are returning, relocating or launching production in the state, including Dan Fogelman’s upcoming NFL drama, which received a whopping $42M — even more than the show had originally been approved for. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1749, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for dole out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout