Dispose
Pronunciation
- US IPA: /dɪsˈpoʊz/
- RP IPA: /dɪˈspəʊz/
- Rhymes: -əʊz
Origin
From Old French disposer.
Full definition of dispose
Verb
- (intransitive, used with "of") To eliminate or to get rid of something.I dispose of my trash in the garbage can.
- To distribute and put in place.
- 1600, William Shakespeare, Henry V, act 4, scene IIINow, dear soldiers, march away:
And how thou pleasest, God, dispose the day! - 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, chapter 6Marianne’s pianoforte was unpacked and properly disposed of, and Elinor’s drawing were affixed to the walls of their sitting rooms.
- 1934, Rex Stout, , 1992 edition, ISBN 0553278193, page 47:I sat down within three feet of the entrance door, and I had no sooner got disposed than the door opened and a man came in....
- To deal out; to assign to a use.
- Evelynwhat he designed to bestow on her funeral, he would rather dispose among the poor
- To incline.In these uncertain times, I am disposed towards caution. (Used here intransitively in the passive voice)
- DrydenEndure and conquer; Jove will soon dispose
To future good our past and present woes. - Francis BaconSuspicions dispose kings to tyranny, husbands to jealousy, and wise men to irresolution and melancholy.
- (obsolete) To bargain; to make terms.
- ShakespeareShe had disposed with Caesar.
- (obsolete) To regulate; to adjust; to settle; to determine.
- Drydenthe knightly forms of combat to dispose