DISPENSER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dispenser mean? 

• DISPENSER (noun)
  The noun DISPENSER has 2 senses:

1. a container so designed that the contents can be used in prescribed amounts

2. a person who dispenses

  Familiarity information: DISPENSER used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISPENSER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A container so designed that the contents can be used in prescribed amounts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("dispenser" is a kind of...):

container (any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dispenser"):

aerosol; aerosol bomb; aerosol can; aerosol container; spray can (a dispenser that holds a substance under pressure and that can release it as a fine spray (usually by means of a propellant gas))

atomiser; atomizer; nebuliser; nebulizer; spray; sprayer (a dispenser that turns a liquid (such as perfume) into a fine mist)

inhalator; inhaler (a dispenser that produces a chemical vapor to be inhaled in order to relieve nasal congestion)

roll-on (a dispenser of a liquid cosmetic (such as a deodorant) having a revolving ball as an applicator)

slinger ring (dispenser consisting of a tubular ring around the propeller hub of an airplane through which antifreeze solution is spread over the blades)

soap dispenser (dispenser of liquid soap)

Derivation:

dispense (administer or bestow, as in small portions)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A person who dispenses

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("dispenser" is a kind of...):

provider; supplier (someone whose business is to supply a particular service or commodity)

Derivation:

dispense (administer or bestow, as in small portions)

 Context examples 

A unit of measure of volume defined as the amount of liquid dispensed as one drop from a dropper dispenser.

(Drop, NCI Thesaurus)

A container of medication intended to refill an aerosol dispenser.

(Aerosol Refill, NCI Thesaurus)

Results of the study showed a reduction in the consumption of antibiotics among families that used water from taps fitted with special dispensers containing chlorine tablets that gradually dissolve and treat flowing water.

(Chlorine dispensers fitted to public taps cut child diarrhoea, SciDev.Net)

Therefore he desired to be further satisfied what I meant by law, and the dispensers thereof, according to the present practice in my own country; because he thought nature and reason were sufficient guides for a reasonable animal, as we pretended to be, in showing us what he ought to do, and what to avoid.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The volume of a drop depends on the physical properties of the liquid dispensed, the dispenser device, and the technique used to produce the drop.

(Drop, NCI Thesaurus)