Definition of "dispose"

dispose

/dɪsˈpoʊz/

verb
third-person singular simple present disposes, present participle disposing, simple past and past participle disposed
1. (intransitive, used with "of") To eliminate or to get rid of something.
2. To distribute or arrange; to put in place.
  Quotations
  Now, dear soldiers, march away: / And how thou pleasest, God, dispose the day!
  1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene iii]
  Marianne’s pianoforte was unpacked and properly disposed of, and Elinor’s drawing were affixed to the walls of their sitting rooms.
  1811, [Jane Austen], Sense and Sensibility […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […]
  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 […] .
  1934, Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance, Bantam, published 1992, page 47
  By disposing the driving power over a number of cars instead of concentrating it in a single locomotive a great advance was made towards a high rate of acceleration.
  1950 September, “Central London Railway Jubilee”, in Railway Magazine, page 620
3. To deal out; to assign to a use.
  Quotations
  what he designed to bestow on her funeral, he would rather dispose among the poor
  1818 (first published), John Evelyn, diary entry for 1634
4. To incline.
  Quotations
  Endure and conquer; Jove will soon dispose / To future good our past and present woes.
  1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […]
  They [suspicions] dispose kings to tyranny, husbands to jealousy, and wise men to irresolution and melancholy.
  1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Suspicion”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret
  At twilight in the summer […] the mice come out. They […] eat the luncheon crumbs. Mr. Checkly, for instance, always brought his dinner in a paper parcel in his coat-tail pocket, and ate it when so disposed, sprinkling crumbs lavishly […] on the floor.
  1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […]
5. (obsolete) To bargain; to make terms.
  Quotations
  She had disposed with Caesar.
  1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene ii]
6. (obsolete) To regulate; to adjust; to settle; to determine.
  Quotations
  the knightly forms of combat to dispose
  1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […]
noun
1. (obsolete) The disposal or management of something.
  Quotations
  By thus doing, he submits himself to God's rod, commits himself to the dispose of his providence; yea, by thus doing, he casteth the lot of his present and future condition into the lap of his creditors, and leaves the whole dispose thereof to the Lord […]
  1680, John Bunyan, The Life and Death of Mr Badman
2. (obsolete) Behaviour; disposition.

Definition of "dispose"

dispose

verb

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noun

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