Standard Lemma guide

disbursement

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: D IH0 S B ER1 S M AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act, instance, or process of disbursing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Money paid out or spent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the act of spending or disbursing money

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spending, disbursal, outlay

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: payment, defrayal, defrayment

Narrower terms: expending, expenditure, deficit spending, compensatory spending, pump priming

4

noun

Meaning 4

amounts paid for goods and services that may be currently tax deductible (as opposed to capital expenditures)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: expense, disbursal

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cost

Narrower terms: business expense, trade expense, interest expense, lobbying expense, medical expense, non-cash expense, moving expense, operating expense, operating cost, overhead, budget items, personal expense

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English disburse Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Old French -mentbor. Middle English -ment English -ment English disbursement From disburse + -ment.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: desembors — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Catalan: desemborsament — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 支付 (zhīfù) — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 支出 (zhīchū) — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Finnish: maksaminen — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Finnish: maksu — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Hungarian: kiutalás — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Hungarian: folyósítás — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Hungarian: kifizetés — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Polish: wypłacanie — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Spanish: desembolso — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Tagalog: paluwal — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Ottoman Turkish: اخراج (ihrâc) — the act, instance, or process of disbursing
  • Catalan: desembors — money paid out or spent
  • Catalan: desemborsament — money paid out or spent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 支出金額 /支出金额 (zhīchū jīn'é) — money paid out or spent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 支付額 /支付额 (zhīfù'é) — money paid out or spent
  • Finnish: maksu — money paid out or spent
  • Hungarian: kifizetett/folyósított/kiutalt összeg/pénzösszeg — money paid out or spent
  • Irish: íocaíocht — money paid out or spent
  • Polish: wypłata — money paid out or spent
  • Spanish: desembolso — money paid out or spent
  • Tagalog: paluwal — money paid out or spent
  • Ottoman Turkish: خرج (harc) — money paid out or spent