as in distributes
to give out (something) to appropriate individuals
she doles out office supplies as if she were paying for them out of her own pocket
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Recent Examples of doles out
Lambert’s script doles out details in small measures, requiring patience from her audience.
—
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 22 Jan. 2026
Its revenue-distribution model doles out more to the SEC and Big Ten than the Atlantic Coast and Big 12, among the power conferences.
—Arkansas Online, 19 Jan. 2026
Rob Hale, founder and CEO of telecommunications company Granite Communications, annually doles out $1,000 checks to local recent college graduates in Massachusetts.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 29 Dec. 2025
In total, the New York City Marathon doles out $969,000 in prize money, including $534,000 total to the men’s and women’s top-10 finishers, and $118,000 total to the top-five American finishers.
—Bette Canter, Sportico.com, 2 Nov. 2025
Throughout the movie, Lanthimos doles out pieces of backstory in short, dreamlike sequences that unfurl in black and white, artfully filling in the blanks of Teddy’s particular interest in Michelle.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025
Passed 50 years ago, IDEA doles out billions of dollars annually to states, and then to school districts, which use the money to help pay for special education services.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025
Nick Benz-Bushling doles out Johnathan's medications.
—Kate Snow, NBC news, 25 Sep. 2025
Philanthropy is important to the company, which annually doles out millions of dollars in scholarships to its team members, grants via its charities, food donations and more.
—George A. Paul, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 22 Jan. 2026
Its revenue-distribution model doles out more to the SEC and Big Ten than the Atlantic Coast and Big 12, among the power conferences.
—Arkansas Online, 19 Jan. 2026
Rob Hale, founder and CEO of telecommunications company Granite Communications, annually doles out $1,000 checks to local recent college graduates in Massachusetts.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 29 Dec. 2025
In total, the New York City Marathon doles out $969,000 in prize money, including $534,000 total to the men’s and women’s top-10 finishers, and $118,000 total to the top-five American finishers.
—Bette Canter, Sportico.com, 2 Nov. 2025
Throughout the movie, Lanthimos doles out pieces of backstory in short, dreamlike sequences that unfurl in black and white, artfully filling in the blanks of Teddy’s particular interest in Michelle.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025
Passed 50 years ago, IDEA doles out billions of dollars annually to states, and then to school districts, which use the money to help pay for special education services.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025
Nick Benz-Bushling doles out Johnathan's medications.
—Kate Snow, NBC news, 25 Sep. 2025
Philanthropy is important to the company, which annually doles out millions of dollars in scholarships to its team members, grants via its charities, food donations and more.
—George A. Paul, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doles out
Verb
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Our focus is on complying in a way that distributes affordable housing projects throughout the county.—
Ashley Sharp,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The group’s headquarters distributes money, as well as write-ups about the results of local experiments, to the various chapters.—
Charles Duhigg,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Congress has repeatedly waded into establishing an overarching federal law that would encompass AI that dispenses mental health advice.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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In autonomous tests, the robot unscrews bottle caps, extracts individual pills from organizers despite occlusion, dispenses precise syringe volumes under variable resistance, and selects small metal parts from cluttered containers.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This single fine is close to the normal total of $8 million to $10 million in all fines that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration hands out each year.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Jan. 2026
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Boston Public Health Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu revealed in September that the city hands out more than 80,000 needles per month to drug users.—
Lance Reynolds,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The company provides fabrication, installation and tower services for broadcast, cellular, railroad and wind industries, according to its website.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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The program trains officers to recognize certain personality types and provides techniques for de-escalation without physical conflict.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Netflix divides its huge subscriber base into thousands of these smaller communities, based on viewers’ past viewing behavior.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
28 Jan. 2026
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Ellenberg noted that this history matters today since hate often begins not with violence but with language that divides and moments that make people feel more comfortable to look away than to speak up.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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New Zealand’s Health Research Council already allocates some of its grants by lottery.—
Rachel Barr,
Big Think,
29 Jan. 2026
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Italy declares state of emergency and allocates 100 million euros in initial funding, though total damage to Sicily could reach 2 billion euros.—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Doles out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doles%20out. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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