dispersed; dispersing
1
a
: to cause to break up (see break up sense 1a)
police dispersed the crowd
b
: to cause to become spread widely
disperse the troops
c
: to cause to evaporate or vanish
sunlight dispersing the mist
2
: to spread or distribute from a fixed or constant source: such as
a
archaic
: disseminate
disperse the news
b
physics
: to subject to dispersion (see dispersion sense 4)
disperse light
c
chemistry
: to distribute (something, such as fine particles) more or less evenly throughout a medium
1
: to break up in random fashion
the crowd dispersed on request
Examples of disperse in a Sentence
Police ordered the crowd to disperse.
the crowd dispersed once the show ended
Recent Examples on the Web
North Korean soldiers were dispersed in Vladivostok, as well as other far eastern cities of Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk for training last month, according to the NIS.
—
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Each dot represents five voters for a particular candidate, and they are randomly dispersed throughout the precinct (in other words, the dot does not represent the exact address where the voters live).
—Kunle Falayi, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
That breakage and dilution of the relationship is, in essence, what happens to company culture when everyone is dispersed.
—Mo Hamzian, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Crowds dispersed in all directions as gunfire rang out, according to the footage.
—Patrick Smith, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for disperse 
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Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Each dot represents five voters for a particular candidate, and they are randomly dispersed throughout the precinct (in other words, the dot does not represent the exact address where the voters live).
—Kunle Falayi, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
That breakage and dilution of the relationship is, in essence, what happens to company culture when everyone is dispersed.
—Mo Hamzian, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Crowds dispersed in all directions as gunfire rang out, according to the footage.
—Patrick Smith, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for disperse
Dictionary Entries Near disperse
Cite this Entry
“Disperse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disperse. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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Medical Definition
disperse
verb
dis·perse
dis-ˈpərs 
dispersed; dispersing
: to spread or distribute from a fixed or constant source: as
a
: to subject (as light) to dispersion
b
: to distribute (as fine particles) more or less evenly throughout a medium
: to become dispersed
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