dispersal

noun

dis·​pers·​al di-ˈspər-səl How to pronounce dispersal (audio)
: the act or result of dispersing
especially : the process or result of the spreading of organisms from one place to another

Examples of dispersal in a Sentence

the dispersal of plant seeds in the forests through natural means
Recent Examples on the Web These tensions, combined with the dispersal of the leaders, weakened Hamas’s external organization. Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2023 The panel published a 57-page executive summary of their findings in 2014, of which only seven pages addressed the Rabaa dispersal. Cnn Staff, CNN, 18 Aug. 2023 When one species relies on another for such dispersal, it's known as phoresy. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 26 June 2023 Russia’s subsequent seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and its shelling of other nuclear facilities in Ukraine raised the specter of the unintended dispersal of radioactive material in a fashion that might have resembled the battlefield effects of radiological weapons. William C. Potter, Foreign Affairs, 15 Dec. 2023 Tumblr moving away from a growth strategy also aligns with the larger movement toward smaller and decentralized social media, characterized by the dispersal of Twitter’s users onto platforms like Bluesky, Mastodon, Discord, and even back to Tumblr itself. Allegra Rosenberg, The Verge, 17 Nov. 2023 So the researchers introduced the effect of seed dispersal into their models, which could be by wind and by birds and other creatures. Quanta Magazine, 14 Sep. 2023 And the construction, regardless of the middle components, needs to be sound ( i.e. don’t put wet tomatoes directly onto the bread, and try to get equal dispersal of stuff for optimum bites). Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023 Quite how much any of those roles prepared him for his current task — managing the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars and the acquisition and dispersal of some of the world’s best soccer talent — is unclear. Ahmed Al Omran, New York Times, 13 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dispersal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dispersal was in 1821

Dictionary Entries Near dispersal

Cite this Entry

“Dispersal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dispersal. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dispersal

noun
dis·​pers·​al dis-ˈpər-səl How to pronounce dispersal (audio)
: the act or result of dispersing

Medical Definition

dispersal

noun
dis·​pers·​al dis-ˈpər-səl How to pronounce dispersal (audio)
: the act or result of dispersing
specifically : the process or result of the spreading of organisms from one place to another

More from Merriam-Webster on dispersal

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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