as in distributing
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 doling out
Mariah Carey, will be honored with the ceremonies' Video Vanguard Award, while the presenter list is equally glamorous, with Ciara, Drew Barrymore, Ashlee Simpson and Jessica Simpson, and many more doling out awards throughout the night.
—
Jackie Fields, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
Try the TikTok-viral brand’s Dreamweave Waffle Robe next, which takes advantage of a proprietary weave and a 100-percent Turkish cotton composition while doling out cloudlike softness, incredible lightness, and an absorbency that just might make toweling off after a shower optional.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 5 Sep. 2025
The Sanseito party tapped into these frustrations on the campaign trail – doling out rhetoric that some critics called inflammatory and xenophobic.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2025
Sure, Outlander or Blood of My Blood could pull some twisty time-travel shenanigans and make this happen, but this universe isn’t exactly known for doling out neat and tidy happily ever afters.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
Those are just some of the bribes Manhattan prosecutors allege Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Mayor Adams’ longtime political confidante, pocketed over a years-long period in exchange for doling out government favors to her benefactors, like city contracts and expedited building permits.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
Federal guidelines for doling out water based on Lake Mead’s diminished current storage this year placed the river in what is known as a Tier 1 shortage, meaning Arizona is giving up about 30% of the Central Arizona Project’s normal supply, which equals 18% of the state’s share of the Colorado.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Jackie Fields, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
Try the TikTok-viral brand’s Dreamweave Waffle Robe next, which takes advantage of a proprietary weave and a 100-percent Turkish cotton composition while doling out cloudlike softness, incredible lightness, and an absorbency that just might make toweling off after a shower optional.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 5 Sep. 2025
The Sanseito party tapped into these frustrations on the campaign trail – doling out rhetoric that some critics called inflammatory and xenophobic.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2025
Sure, Outlander or Blood of My Blood could pull some twisty time-travel shenanigans and make this happen, but this universe isn’t exactly known for doling out neat and tidy happily ever afters.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
Those are just some of the bribes Manhattan prosecutors allege Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Mayor Adams’ longtime political confidante, pocketed over a years-long period in exchange for doling out government favors to her benefactors, like city contracts and expedited building permits.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
Federal guidelines for doling out water based on Lake Mead’s diminished current storage this year placed the river in what is known as a Tier 1 shortage, meaning Arizona is giving up about 30% of the Central Arizona Project’s normal supply, which equals 18% of the state’s share of the Colorado.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doling out
Verb
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Spencer Mello will be charged with trafficking, distributing, and possession offenses as well as Conspiracy to Violate Controlled Substance Act.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
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By distributing model development and compute power globally, the network aims to reduce reliance on large tech companies while also addressing concerns about bias, censorship, and single points of failure.—
Becca Bratcher,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Then hit the autofill button, and the nozzle lowers down to just over the rim of the glass and starts dispensing.—
PCMag Staff,
PC Magazine,
5 Sep. 2025
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From interactive games to snuffle mats and treat-dispensing toys, there are plenty of puzzles out there on the market.—
Kelsey Monstrola,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The 2027 cap-space landscape will shift across the NBA as teams begin handing out extensions, making trades and signing free agents next summer.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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California cities would not be able to prevent people from handing out food, blankets, hygiene products and other resources to homeless people under a bill passed by the legislature last week, days before the body adjourned for the year.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As the image of a college education providing the future to financial security has already started to show cracks, here is another — the top and bottom poverty rates by major.—
Erik Sherman,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Mara Roszak developed the RŌZ Evergreen Style Cream to use in place of traditional gels, providing light-to-medium hold with shea butter, hydrolyzed pea protein, and carnauba wax.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That includes a subdivision map dividing the property into six lots and a request to replace the current zoning with a custom zoning plan tailored to The Village.—
Mona Darwish,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
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The network originated as an effort to accelerate the collapse of modern society by exacerbating social tensions and dividing society through violence, and has roots in white supremacy and fascism, Kriner said.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The traditional approach of allocating and maintaining static IP blocks or physical routing infrastructure is hard to justify in a world where users, applications and compliance zones span continents—and services can spin up and down in minutes.—
Vincentas Grinius,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) was created under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and started allocating credits nationwide a year later.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Doling out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doling%20out. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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