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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. Disperse widely
   "The invaders distribute their language all over the country";
   - spread
    
3. Release
   "The publisher wants to distribute the book in Asia"
    
4. Give to several people
   "The teacher distributed the exams";
   - give out, hand out, pass out
    
5. 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
    
6. Cause to become widely known
   "distribute a rumour";
   - circulate, circularize, circularise [Brit], disseminate, propagate, broadcast, spread, diffuse, disperse, pass around
    
7. Spread throughout a given area
   "the function distributes the values evenly"
    
8. Be distributed or spread, as in statistical analyses
   "Values distribute"
    
9. Be mathematically distributive
    
10. To arrange in a systematic order
    "distribute the chairs in the lecture hall";
    - stagger

Derived forms: distributed, distributes, distributing

See also: diffuse, dissipate, expand, spread out

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

Antonym: garner

Encyclopedia: Distribute