1. Give or provide in small portions
   "distribute critical remarks to everyone present";
   - administer, mete out, deal, parcel out, lot, dispense, deal out, dish out, allot, dole out, mete, dole
    
2. Give to several people
   "The teacher distributed the exams";
   - give out, hand out, pass out
    
3. Disperse widely
   "The invaders distribute their language all over the country";
   - spread
    
4. Cause to be distributed, e.g. to all relevant people, everyone on a list, etc.
   "This letter is being distributed among the faculty";
   - circulate, pass around, pass on
    
5. Spread throughout a given area
   "the function distributes the values evenly"
    
6. Cause to become widely known
   "distribute a rumour";
   - circulate, circularize, circularise [Brit], disseminate, propagate, broadcast, spread, diffuse, disperse, pass around
    
7. Spread out or arrange at different times or positions
   "distribute the chairs in the lecture hall";
   - stagger
    
8. Release
   "The publisher wants to distribute the book in Asia"
    
9. Be distributed or spread, as in statistical analyses
   "Values distribute"
    
10. Be mathematically distributive
    "This operation distributes over addition"

Derived forms: distributes, distributing, distributed

See also: fan out, spread out, string out

Type of: air, arrange, bare, be, displace, exist, gift, give, move, present, publicise [Brit], publicize, scatter, set up, spread, spread out, transfer

Antonym: collect

Encyclopedia: Distribute