discharge

noun

(medicine) The act of releasing an inpatient from hospital.

The act of expelling or letting go.

The act of firing a projectile, especially from a firearm.

(electricity) The act of releasing an accumulated charge.

The act of accomplishing (an obligation) or repaying a debt etc.; performance.

(law) Release from liability, as granted to someone having served in a position of trust, such as to the officers and governors of a corporate body.

(medicine, uncountable) Pus or exudate or mucus (but in modern usage not exclusively blood) from a wound or orifice, usually due to pathological or hormonal changes.

(hydrology) The volume of water transported by a river in a certain amount of time, usually in units of m³/s (cubic meters per second).

The material thus released.

(military) The act of releasing a member of the armed forces from service.

The process of flowing out.

The process of removing the load borne by something.

verb

To free of a debt, claim, obligation, responsibility, accusation, etc.; to absolve; to acquit; to forgive; to clear.

To accomplish or complete, as an obligation.

To send away (a creditor) satisfied by payment; to pay one's debt or obligation to.

To expel or let go.

To let fly, as a missile; to shoot.

To release legally from confinement; to set at liberty.

To relieve of an office or employment; to send away from service; to dismiss.

(medicine) To release (an inpatient) from hospital.

(military) To release (a member of the armed forces) from service.

To give forth; to emit or send out.

(electricity) To release (an accumulated charge).

To set aside; to annul; to dismiss.

To put forth, or remove, as a charge or burden; to take out, as that with which anything is loaded or filled.

(logic) To release (an auxiliary assumption) from the list of assumptions used in arguments, and return to the main argument.

To operate (any weapon that fires a projectile, such as a shotgun or sling).

To unload a ship or another means of transport.

(transitive, textiles) To bleach out or to remove or efface, as by a chemical process.

To let fly; to give expression to; to utter.

(obsolete, Scotland) To prohibit; to forbid.

Roots

disdis- · Latin · apart, not carrus-charge · Latin · wheeled vehicle

Words related to discharge

ventingn assoilv displode debouchesv catamnesis corposantn waivern undischargedadj cannonadingn liberationn lochian mofette flashovern cannonryadj

Synonyms & related words for discharge

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of discharge — including firing, eject, dismissal, disembogue, acquit, expel. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to discharge

Explore words related to discharge — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include venting, assoil, displode, debouches, catamnesis, corposant, waiver, undischarged. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for discharge

Common synonyms for discharge include firing, eject, dismissal, disembogue, acquit, expel, emission, release — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does discharge come from?

The word discharge breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: dis-, from Latin dis (“apart, not”); and -charge, from Latin carrus (“wheeled vehicle”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.