disburse
/dɪsˈbɝs/verb
disburse is spelled D-I-S-B-U-R-S-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 77,666th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “disburse vs disperse” about 2,400 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, disburse means “To pay out, expend; usually from a public fund or treasury” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in disburse?
| Letters | 8: D-I-S-B-U-R-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 77,666th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is disburse?
Disburse appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 77,666th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce disburse?
- US /dɪsˈbɝs/
- US [dɪsˈpɝs]
Disburse has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-disburse.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with disburse
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with disburse?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as disburse from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of disburse
- disburses present, singular, he/she/it
- disbursing participle, present
- disbursed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does disburse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To pay out, expend; usually from a public fund or treasury.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Disburse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to pay out:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | débourser |
| German | ausschütten |
| Portuguese | desembolsar, despender |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does disburse come from?
From Old French desbourser (Modern French débourser). By surface analysis, dis- + burse (“purse”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).