distributeverb/dɪˈstɹɪbjuːt/

• 1

  To divide into portions and dispense.

  • He distributed the bread amongst his followers.
• 2

  To supply to retail outlets.

  • The agency distributes newspapers to local shops.
• 3

  To deliver or pass out.

  • A network of children distributes flyers to every house.
  • Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics.
• 4

  To scatter or spread.

  • I raked the soil then distributed grass seed.
  • The air-handling equipment humidifies, dehumidifies, and distributes the correct amount of fresh air into every zone and eliminates all smoke, dust, and odors, with electric precipitrons.
• 5

  To apportion (more or less evenly).

  • The robot's six legs distributed its weight over a wide area.
  • With an election not much more than a year away, distributing HS2's money into roads is pork barrel politics. Or at least it would be if the money existed.
• 6

  To classify or separate into categories.

  • The database distributed verbs into transitive and intransitive segments.
• 7

  mathematicssciencesTo be distributive.

  • Multiplication distributes over addition.
• 8

  mediaprintingpublishingTo separate (type which has been used) and return it to the proper boxes in the cases.