Distributed
dɪˈstrɪbjʊtɪd
Definitions
2 meaningsTo share out or spread something among a group of people or things.
dɪˈstrɪbjʊt
To give a share or a portion of something.
The charity distributed food and water to the flood victims.
💡 Simply: Imagine you have a bunch of cookies. Distributing them means giving a cookie to each of your friends, so everyone gets some!
👶 For kids: To give something to lots of people.
More Examples
The software company distributed a new update to all its users.
The library distributes free books during the summer reading program.
How It's Used
"The company distributed profits among its shareholders."
"The teacher distributed the worksheets to the students."
Spread or scattered over a wide area or among a number of things.
dɪˈstrɪbjʊtɪd
Spread over a wide area.
The company's offices are distributed throughout the country.
💡 Simply: Imagine if a bunch of toys were spread all over the playground. That's like something being distributed - it's not all in one place, but spread around!
👶 For kids: Spread out or scattered around.
More Examples
The data is distributed across multiple servers.
The symptoms of the disease were distributed unevenly among the population.
How It's Used
"Distributed systems are designed to handle large amounts of data."
"The rainforest is distributed across several countries in South America."
Synonyms & Antonyms
Idioms & expressions
distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack
A cyberattack in which a multitude of compromised systems attack a target, such as a server, website, or other network resource, and cause a denial of service to users of the targeted resource.
"The website was shut down due to a distributed denial-of-service attack."
distributed ledger
A database that is shared and synchronized across a network, with each participant holding an identical copy.
"Blockchain technology relies on distributed ledgers to record transactions."
From Latin *distribuere* ('to divide, assign'), from *dis-* ('apart') + *tribuere* ('to assign, allot'), from *tribus* ('tribe'). The word evolved to mean to spread, to share out, or to allocate.
The word 'distribute' and its forms have been used in English since the 15th century, initially in the context of dividing and assigning portions.
Memory tip
Think of 'dis' as apart and 'tribute' as a contribution. You're taking something and sharing it out.
Word Origin
"to divide, assign"