dispenses

verb

present tense third-person singular of dispense
as in distributes
to give out (something) to appropriate individuals a conscientious pharmacist never dispenses pills to people without assurances that they understand the instructions

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dispenses That unit dispenses prescriptions in CVS' more than 9,000 retail pharmacies and provides other services, such as vaccinations and diagnostic testing. — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026 The foundation dispenses $350,000 to $500,000 a year, according to the family's attorney, Stephanie Johnson O’Day. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 28 June 2026 According to a news release, Sibley entered into a collaborative agreement with pharmacist Josh Harrison at The Compounding Lab, which dispenses drugs for people and animals. — ABC News, 17 June 2026 Like a vending machine that dispenses Hot Wheels instead of Coca-Cola. — Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 16 June 2026 In the middle, a Cartman in the role of a Midtown tax adviser dispenses accounting tips and tricks, culled from a YouTube account run by a real-life New York CPA. — Theo Belci, Artforum, 2 June 2026 This Oxo dish brush features a handle that dispenses soap at the push of a button. — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026 The musical, featuring a book by David Hornsby and Chris Hoch and a score by the Rescues that dispenses with the movie’s cover-heavy soundtrack, is undeniably overstuffed. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026 Sol de Janeiro’s body lotion comes with a convenient pump that quickly dispenses the lotion so my skin can reap the benefits of the formula. — Rylee Johnston, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispenses
  1. distributes
  2. provides
  3. administers
  4. allocates
Verb
  • The Confederation of African Football, which is more dependent on the money FIFA distributes than other continental confederations, has backed Infantino.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The Payout Date, also known as the payment date, is the day the company distributes the dividend to eligible shareholders.
    — Sasirekha Subramanian, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of distributes
Verb
  • Pips-out is more of a defensive rubber that provides more speed and power but has less spin on hits.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • This next generation of talent provides an in for luxury brands who are keen to generate loyalty and sales, not just celebrity fervor, through their Korean brand ambassadors.
    — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of provides
Verb
  • The Indiana Department of Natural Resources administers the federal grant program to the local communities.
    — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, which administers the fair housing voucher program for Sacramento city and county residents, acknowledged the problem in a planning document.
    — Haley Parsley, Sacbee.com, 24 July 2026
Definition of administers
Verb
  • The program allocates $135 million to provide incentives, with participating automakers matching the funds.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The current model allocates most of the clinical visits to administrative work and only a fraction to the patient.
    — Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of allocates

Browse Nearby Words

dispensed
dispenses
dispensing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dispenses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispenses. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on dispenses

Nglish: Translation of dispenses for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All