distribution
/dɪstrɪˈbjuːʃ(ə)n
/noun [mass noun]
1The action of sharing something out among a number of recipients: the government released about 74,000 tonnes of rice for distribution among people affected by the cyclone [count noun]: unequal distributions of income and wealth...
- Glencore's 2,000 employees share in regular distributions of its profits.
- What happened was that the shares were sold and then the distributions were paid out of the realised profits.
- In other words, the trustees have the discretion to make distributions, but haven't done so for years.
Synonyms
giving out, dealing out, handing out/round, issue, issuing, issuance, dispensation, administering, administration, passing round, doling out;
allocation, allotment, apportioning, apportionment, assigning, assignment, sharing out, dividing up/out, division, measuring out, meting out, parcelling out, rationing out
1.1The action or process of supplying goods to retailers: a manager has the choice of four types of distribution [as modifier]: an established distribution channel...
- If the distribution channel is selected incorrectly, the brand will decline rapidly.
- Whirlpool gets a new distribution channel for its appliances and a cut of the tuition.
- Another challenge is the loose grip on the major distribution channel in the market.
Synonyms
supply, supplying, delivery, transport, transportation, conveyance, dispatch, handling, mailing
1.2 Bridge The different number of cards of each suit in a player’s hand: strength has two ingredients, high cards and distribution...
- Any hint as to the distribution of the cards (such as an offer to give up), is punished by immediate loss of the game.
- For his claim was a claim about the inevitable sequence of events with that distribution of cards.
2The way in which something is shared out among a group or spread over an area: changes undergone by the area have affected the distribution of its wildlife...
- She also said weight distribution made a difference, as characterised by apple and pear-shaped bodies.
- We corrected death rates for differences in age distribution and sex.
- One of these differences is the distribution and quantity of acidic and basic residues.
Synonyms
dispersal, diffusion, dissemination, scattering, spread;
placement, position, location, disposition, arrangement, organization;
grouping, classification, assortment
Derivatives
distributional
/ adjective ...- The distributional and equity issues were ignored.
- The problem here is that because of the absence of well-defined property rights, the issue is a distributional one.
- We had helicopters in stand-by but reached the marooned villages in boats because distributional efficiency is higher.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin distributio(n-), from the verb distribuere (see distribute).