to dole out
37
4.0
- phrasal verb
- /doʊl aʊt/
- We don't have anybody to dole out water during the day.
- dole out food
- dole out funds
- dole out favors
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Watch on YouTubeCertainly, doling out work permits is not the solution to to this.
- Certainly, doling out work permits is not the solution to to this.
- They're not doled out by the government.
- These might be doled out over time, but often a lump sum was due up front.
- The royalties are partially going to the committee for Ezra # Dorothy, who kind of doles it out.
- The NSF, the DARPA, there was an Air Force place that doled out money.
- I mean, you know, they get paid money to dole out money for healthcare.
- Miss Willis was the one doling out the checks as he whined and dined her and took her on lavish vacations around the world.
- And I don't want to think that I would have been the person doling that out, but who's to say I wouldn't have?
- Like, OK, let's take the study of UFOs, OK, maybe many people in government that decide who dole out the money, let's put it that way.
Examples
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She decided to dole out advice on budgeting to her friends over lunch.
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I mean, you know, they get paid money to dole out money for healthcare.
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Each week we ask the youngest and least experienced of us to dole out some advice on to the world.
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The money Social Services doles out for a kid is pitiful.
Fiction book (1999) -
City planners often dole out resources in pairs: sports centers, clinics, parks, fire stations.
Academic text (2011) -
The stimulus bill doles out generous subsidies to alternative energy producers and new motor vehicle technologies.
Academic text (2009) -
The canned bread vending machine doles out flavors including chocolate chip bread, coffee loaf, and fruit bread.
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During the community event, volunteers will dole out food and supplies to those in need.
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At the festival, the organizers dole out small prizes to the children playing games.
Synonyms
237
1.8
To give something to people in a group
217
2.3
To hand things to several people
155
4.8
Give something like medicine or a test, often in a formal way
140
2.0
Give things to several people or places
93
1.5
To give out cards or other things to people
78
2.7
To give things to people in a group, like papers or drinks
66
3.7
To give medicine or other things to people at a pharmacy
54
2.1
Hand something to each person in a group
39
3.4
To give out things to several people, often food or advice
34
4.7
To give out small amounts of money or food to people in need
21
3.7
To give a part of something to someone for a specific use
18
7.3
To share something among a group of people
16
4.2
Share things or money between several people
8
7.0
To divide something and give parts to different people or groups
6
4.8
To divide something into parts and give each part to different people
5
3.2
To give things to several people, often one by one, like cards
2
3.4
To divide something into parts and give each part to different people
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to give or distribute' follows directly from combining 'dole' (to give or apportion in small shares) with the directional/dispersion sense of 'out' (outward distribution), so the overall meaning is compositional. This verb+particle pattern is a regular, cross-linguistically common way to express distributing things, making it readily inferable for a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
Dole out comes from the old word dole, which meant a 'share' or small 'portion' given to people in need. Imagine someone handing out small pieces of food or coins to a line of people; that's why dole out now means 'to give or distribute' things to people, often in small amounts.