What does disburse mean?
Word: Disburse
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Disburse means to give out money from a fund that was built up for a particular purpose.
Synonyms: distribute
How do you spell disburse?
Syllables: dis - burse
Tricky part: The second syllable has ur, not er. Disberse is the usual slip, and the word is easily mixed up with disperse, which has a p and no link with money.
Watch out for: disberse, disburce
Memory tip: Money that is handed over comes from a purse, and the two words end alike.
Disburse in a sentence
Example 1: The bank will disburse the education loan directly to the college.
Example 2: Funds for the new playground were disbursed in three stages.
Example 3: The trustees meet each March to disburse what the alumni have given.
Fun Fact
The word grew out of an old French word for a purse. A bursar, who looks after the money in a school or college, takes the title from the same source.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
dissburse
a) s
b) d
c) r
d) b
Show answer
a) s. Only one s sits before the b; the double letter is a common slip after dis.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
The sports trust will rbuesdis the prize funds on Monday morning.
a) disburse
b) disturb
c) discuss
d) dispense
Show answer
a) disburse. The jumble holds both a b and an e, and only one option does too.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word disburse as used in the sentence:
The charity will disburse the scholarship money to each school next week.
a) set aside
b) hold back
c) add up
d) pay out
Show answer
d) pay out. The schools receive the money, so the charity is paying it out.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. subsidy 2. interrest 3. treasurer 4. disburse
a) the person in charge of a club's money
b) to hand out sums from a fund
c) money given to keep prices low
d) extra money paid on a loan or savings
Show answer
d) extra money paid on a loan or savings. The money word interest has only one r.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A charity disbursed Rs 5 lakh last year. What does this tell us?
a) that sum was lost by mistake
b) that sum came in from donors
c) that sum was kept in the bank
d) that sum went out of its fund
Show answer
d) that sum went out of its fund
2. Whose job involves disbursing money?
a) the clerk who files old newspapers
b) the guard who opens the school gates
c) the cook who plans the midday meal
d) the officer who releases grants to schools
Show answer
d) the officer who releases grants to schools
