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dispersal
noun
dis·pers·al
di-ˈspər-səl
: 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
But eventually, the host has to die; the point is to keep the host alive long enough to reach the best spots for maximum dispersal of new spores.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 Jan. 2023
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
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
Dictionary Entries Near dispersal
Cite this Entry
“Dispersal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dispersal. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.
Kids Definition
dispersal
noun
dis·pers·al
dis-ˈpər-səl
: the act or result of dispersing
Medical Definition
dispersal
noun
dis·pers·al
dis-ˈpər-səl
: 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
Nglish: Translation of dispersal for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dispersal
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