Definition of 'discharge'

Word Frequency

discharge

Word forms: discharges, discharging, dischargedpronunciation note: The verb is pronounced (dɪstʃɑrdʒ ). The noun is pronounced (dɪstʃɑrdʒ ).

1. transitive verb

When someone is discharged from a hospital, prison, or one of the armed services, they are officially allowed to leave, or told that they must leave.

He has a broken nose but may be discharged today.

2. transitive verb

If someone discharges their duties or responsibilities, they do everything that needs to be done in order to complete them.

[formal]

...the quiet competence with which he discharged his many duties.

3. transitive verb

If something is discharged from inside a place, it comes out.

[formal]

The resulting salty water will be discharged at sea.

4. variable noun

When there is a discharge of a substance, the substance comes out from inside somewhere.

[formal]

They develop a fever and a watery discharge from their eyes.

Video: pronunciation of 'discharge'

Word Frequency

discharge in American

(dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ ; dischärjˈ; also, & for n., usually ˈdɪsˌtʃɑrdʒ ; disˈchärjˌ)

verb transitiveWord forms: disˈcharged or disˈcharging

to relieve of or release from something that burdens or confines

; specif.,

to remove the cargo of (a ship); unload

to release the charge of (a gun); fire

to release (a soldier, jury, etc.) from duty

to dismiss (a special committee) after it has reported to the legislature of which it is a part

to dismiss from employment

to release (a prisoner) from jail, (a defendant) from suspicion, (a patient) as cured, (a debtor or bankrupt) from obligations, etc.

to release or remove (that by which one is burdened or confined)

; specif.,

to unload (a cargo)

to shoot (a projectile)

to remove (dye) from cloth

to relieve oneself or itself of (a burden, load, etc.)

; specif.,

to throw off; send forth; emit

to discharge pus

to get rid of; acquit oneself of; pay (a debt) or perform (a duty)

4. Architecture

to relieve (a wall, etc.) of excess pressure by distribution of weight

to distribute (weight) evenly over a supporting part

5. US, Electricity

to remove stored energy from (a battery or capacitor)

verb intransitive

to get rid of a burden, load, etc.

to be released or thrown off

to fire; go off: said of a gun, etc.

to emit waste matter

said of a wound, etc.

10.

to run: said of a dye

11.

to lose or give off a stored electrical charge

noun

12.

a discharging or being discharged

13.

that which discharges, as a legal order for release, a certificate of dismissal from military service, etc.

14.

that which is discharged, as pus from a sore

15.

a flow of electric current across a gap, as in a spark or arc

SIMILAR WORDS: free

Derived forms

dischargeable (disˈchargeable)

adjective

discharger (disˈcharger)

noun

Word origin of 'discharge'

ME dischargen < OFr descharger < VL *discarricare, to unload < L dis-, from + carrus, wagon, car1

Word Frequency

discharge in British

verb (dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ )

1. (transitive)

to release or allow to go

the hospital discharged the patient

2. (transitive)

to dismiss from or relieve of duty, office, employment, etc

to fire or be fired, as a gun

to pour forth or cause to pour forth

the boil discharges pus

5. (transitive)

to remove (the cargo) from (a boat, etc); unload

6. (transitive)

to perform (the duties of) or meet (the demands of an office, obligation, etc)

he discharged his responsibilities as mayor

7. (transitive)

to relieve oneself of (a responsibility, debt, etc)

8. (intransitive) physics

to lose or remove electric charge

to form an arc, spark, or corona in a gas

to take or supply electrical current from a cell or battery

9. (transitive) law

to release (a prisoner from custody, etc)

10. (transitive)

to remove dye from (a fabric), as by bleaching

11. (intransitive)

(of a dye or colour) to blur or run

12. (transitive) architecture

to spread (weight) evenly over a supporting member

to relieve a member of (excess weight) by distribution of pressure

noun (ˈdɪstʃɑːdʒ , dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ )

13.

a person or thing that is discharged

14.

dismissal or release from an office, job, institution, etc

the document certifying such release

15.

the fulfilment of an obligation or release from a responsibility or liability

honourable discharge

16.

the act of removing a load, as of cargo

17.

a pouring forth of a fluid; emission

18.

the act of firing a projectile

the volley, bullet, missile, etc, fired

19. law

a release, as of a person held under legal restraint

an annulment, as of a court order

20. physics

the act or process of removing or losing charge or of equalizing a potential difference

a transient or continuous conduction of electricity through a gas by the formation and movement of electrons and ions in an applied electric field

21.

the volume of fluid flowing along a pipe or a channel in unit time

the output rate of a plant or piece of machinery, such as a pump

Derived forms

dischargeable (disˈchargeable)

adjective

discharger (disˈcharger)

noun

Word Frequency

discharge in Chemical Engineering

(dɪstʃɑrdʒ)

Word forms: (regular plural) discharges

noun (count) (noncount)

(Chemical Engineering: General)

Discharge is the flow of waste or product from a process.

The control of air pollution resulting from the discharge of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere has become increasingly urgent.

Other openings were provided at the top of the shell to allow discharge of the products of combustion into the air of the room.

Discharge is the flow of waste or product from a process.

discharge head, discharge rate

Word Frequency

discharge in the Oil and Gas Industry

(dɪstʃɑrdʒ)

Word forms: (present) discharges, (past) discharged, (perfect) discharged, (progressive) discharging

verb

(Extractive engineering: Field development, Drilling)

When a pump discharges a substance, it pushes it out.

Oil is discharged from the pump into the casing and out the wellhead.

The volume of the fluid discharged from the pump is equal to the area of the plunger or piston.

When a pump discharges a substance, it pushes it out.

Word Frequency

discharge in Electrical Engineering

(dɪstʃɑrdʒ)

Word forms: (regular plural) discharges

noun

(Electrical engineering: Circuits, Electrical power)

Electrical discharge can occur by the release of the electric charge stored in a capacitor through an external circuit.

The discharge path was formed when a conductive liquid seeped into the plug-socket assembly.

Capacitors may also have built-in discharge resistors to dissipate stored energy to a safe level within a few seconds after power is removed.

Electrical discharge can occur by the release of the electric charge stored in a capacitor through an external circuit.

air discharge, corona discharge, discharge tube

Example sentences containing 'discharge'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

She had surgery and was discharged from hospital yesterday. Times, Sunday Times (2016)But he was convicted of having cannabis and got a conditional discharge. The Sun (2016)One officer has been discharged from hospital. The Sun (2016)It is understood that he was taken to hospital and discharged after having stitches. Times, Sunday Times (2016)He discharged himself from hospital and left the country without telling anyone. Times, Sunday Times (2016)He was given a conditional discharge. Times, Sunday Times (2017)He got a conditional discharge yesterday. The Sun (2016)She was given a 12-month conditional discharge after she vowed to pay the money back. The Sun (2016)A further 35 per cent are discharged after being given advice or guidance only. Times, Sunday Times (2017)Failure to discharge patients, often because of a lack of social care, means an increasing number of elderly people are remaining in hospital unnecessarily. Times, Sunday Times (2016)This makes it easier to discharge patients into social care. Times, Sunday Times (2013)She was fined and given a conditional discharge. The Sun (2015)The men were taken to hospital but discharged. The Sun (2016)She was looking down at it and discharged the gun. The Sun (2015)The vast majority of teachers understand this obligation and discharge it well. Times, Sunday Times (2012)These carriages discharge waste on to the tracks. Times, Sunday Times (2011)It is the discharge and its cause that will be the focus of his attention. Times, Sunday Times (2006)The most likely explanation is premature discharge of patients by hospital trusts under pressure of targets. Times, Sunday Times (2006)He was given a conditional discharge for possessing heroin. The Sun (2006)Many stay too long in hospital or are discharged in worse health than when they arrived. Times, Sunday Times (2012)In what respect has he failed to discharge these obligations? Christianity Today (2000)Staff have been told they must tell the police an hour before a patient is discharged. Times, Sunday Times (2011)The footage shows a man being pinned to the ground by three policemen while a fourth discharges the stun gun. Times, Sunday Times (2009)If the repayment plan is successfully completed, the debts are discharged. Charles A. D'Ambrosio & Stewart D. Hodges & Richard Brealey & Stewart Myers Principles of Corporate Finance (1991)Some of last week's rioters were dismissed with a warning or a conditional discharge. Times, Sunday Times (2011)Typically, military members dismissed for failing drug tests do not receive an honourable discharge. Times, Sunday Times (2014)His debts to be discharged, and something still to remain! Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice (1813)She was given a two-year conditional discharge. Times, Sunday Times (2015)A previous demonstration ended with police discharging tear gas into the crowd. Times, Sunday Times (2013)I subsequently discharged my debt to her. Lesley Adkins EMPIRES OF THE PLAIN: Henry Rawlinson and the Lost Languages of Babylon (2003)If he discharges waste into the pipes and they flood your land, you could sue him for causing a nuisance. Times, Sunday Times (2010)He got an 18-month conditional discharge and must pay 85 costs. The Sun (2014)