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# dispensed

«dispensed» in Mova's school dictionary: **given out or handed out, often by a machine or in…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

verb, past form of dispense (dispense, dispenses, dispensed, dispensing); adjective (dispensed medicine)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Dispensed means given out or handed out, often by a machine or in measured amounts. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#m1)

2) Dispensed means prepared and given out as medicine by a chemist or pharmacist. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#m2)

3) «Dispensed with» means got rid of something or did without it because it was not needed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#m3)

4) (formal) Dispensed can mean justice or advice was given out by someone in charge. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life a machine dispenses drinks, cash, soap or tickets; a pharmacist dispenses medicine from a doctor's prescription. In maths problems a machine «dispensed 3 sweets each time» means equal groups, so you multiply or divide. In safety, medicine should only be dispensed by an adult or pharmacist. Phrases: dispensed with, dispensed medicine, dispensed by a machine, dispensed justice.

### examples

- The machine dispensed a cold can of lemonade. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#x1)
- The pharmacist dispensed my mum's tablets. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#x2)
- The cash machine dispensed two £10 notes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#x3)
- The soap pump dispensed a tiny blob of foam. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#x4)
- We dispensed with the speeches and went straight to the cake. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#x5)
- The machine dispensed 4 sweets for every coin, so 5 coins gave 20 sweets. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#x6)
- In old stories the king dispensed justice in the great hall. (formal) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#x7)
- The nurse dispensed plasters to everyone who fell over. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#x8)
- Little boys and girls fell over their own toes into the gutter, old women dispensed digs with their elbows, and looked sour, and took snuff. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/#x9)

### note

Past tense and past participle of «dispense». «Dispense with» means do without; it is not the same as «dispose of» (throw away), though they are close. A «dispenser» is the machine or container. In maths, «each time it dispensed n» means repeated equal amounts: total = n × number of times.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «dispensed» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dispensed/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.