discharge

[v. dis-chahrj; n. dis-chahrj, dis-chahrj] /v. dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ; n. ˈdɪs tʃɑrdʒ, dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ/
verb (used with object), discharged, discharging.
1.
to relieve of a charge or load; unload:
to discharge a ship.
2.
to remove or send forth:
They discharged the cargo at New York.
3.
to fire or shoot (a firearm or missile):
to discharge a gun.
4.
to pour forth; emit:
to discharge oil; to discharge a stream of invective.
5.
to relieve oneself of (an obligation, burden, etc.).
6.
to relieve of obligation, responsibility, etc.
7.
to fulfill, perform, or execute (a duty, function, etc.).
8.
to relieve or deprive of office, employment, etc.; dismiss from service.
9.
to release, send away, or allow to go (often followed by from):
The children were discharged early from school. They discharged him from prison.
10.
to pay (a debt).
11.
Law.
  1. to release (a defendant, especially one under confinement).
  2. to release (a bankrupt) from former debts.
  3. to cancel (a contract).
  4. to release (bail).
12.
(in a legislative body) to order (a committee) to cease further consideration of a bill so that it can be voted on.
13.
Electricity. to rid (a battery, capacitor, etc.) of a charge of electricity.
14.
Dyeing. to free from a dye, as by chemical bleaching.
verb (used without object), discharged, discharging.
15.
to get rid of a burden or load.
16.
to deliver a charge or load.
17.
to pour forth.
18.
to go off or fire, as a firearm or missile.
19.
to blur or run, as a color or dye.
20.
Electricity. to lose or give up a charge of electricity.
noun
21.
the act of discharging a ship, load, etc.
22.
the act of firing a weapon, as an arrow by drawing and releasing the string of the bow, or a gun by exploding the charge of powder.
23.
a sending or coming forth, as of water from a pipe; ejection; emission.
24.
the rate or amount of such issue.
25.
something sent forth or emitted.
26.
a relieving, ridding, or getting rid of something of the nature of a charge.
27.
Law.
  1. an acquittal or exoneration.
  2. an annulment, as of a court order.
  3. the freeing of one held under legal process.
28.
a relieving or being relieved of obligation or liability; fulfillment of an obligation.
29.
the payment of a debt.
30.
a release or dismissal, as from prison, an office, or employment.
31.
a certificate of such a release or a certificate of release from obligation or liability.
32.
the act or process of ordering a legislative committee to cease further consideration of a bill so that it can be voted on.
33.
Military.
  1. the separation of a person from military service.
  2. a certificate of such separation.
34.
Electricity.
  1. the removal or transference of an electric charge, as by the conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy.
  2. the equalization of a difference of potential, as between two terminals.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English deschargen < Anglo-French descharger, Old French < Late Latin discarricāre, equivalent to dis- dis-1 + carricāre to load; see charge
Related forms
dischargeable, adjective
discharger, noun
nondischarging, adjective, noun
predischarge, noun
predischarge, verb (used with object), predischarged, predischarging.
redischarge, verb, redischarged, redischarging.
undischargeable, adjective
undischarged, adjective
Synonyms
1. unburden, disburden. 4. expel, eject, exude. 8. cashier, fire, remove. 9. dismiss, expel. 10. settle, liquidate. 22. detonation, shooting. 28. execution, performance.
Synonym Study
6. See release. 7. See perform.
Examples from the web for discharge
  • Soldiers are expected to die, if necessary, in order to discharge this responsibility.
  • It can be difficult to overcome a discharge for cause, especially in a down market.
  • It precipitates out as iron oxide and can then be recovered and recycled, leaving water pure enough to discharge into a river.
  • When stressed, corals discharge the algae that give them their colors, then turn white and eventually die.
  • Researchers believe the brain solves this problem through a process called corollary discharge.
  • Escolar, a nasty fish with buttery flesh that can cause bizarre episodes of diarrhea, accompanied by a waxy intestinal discharge.
  • Went to college to get a job after the discharge and one course really grabbed hold of me.
  • Such a discharge has not yet been created in the laboratory, however.
  • The gas was contained in some pressurized canisters, one of which failed to discharge properly when its valve was opened.
  • The result is a material that, when tested in experimental batteries, was able to charge and discharge in a few seconds.
British Dictionary definitions for discharge

discharge

verb (dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ)
1.
(transitive) to release or allow to go: the hospital discharged the patient
2.
(transitive) to dismiss from or relieve of duty, office, employment, etc
3.
to fire or be fired, as a gun
4.
to pour forth or cause to pour forth: the boil discharges pus
5.
(transitive) to remove (the cargo) from (a boat, etc); unload
6.
(transitive) to perform (the duties of) or meet (the demands of an office, obligation, etc): he discharged his responsibilities as mayor
7.
(transitive) to relieve oneself of (a responsibility, debt, etc)
8.
(intransitive) (physics)
  1. to lose or remove electric charge
  2. to form an arc, spark, or corona in a gas
  3. to take or supply electrical current from a cell or battery
9.
(transitive) (law) to release (a prisoner from custody, etc)
10.
(transitive) to remove dye from (a fabric), as by bleaching
11.
(intransitive) (of a dye or colour) to blur or run
12.
(transitive) (architect)
  1. to spread (weight) evenly over a supporting member
  2. to relieve a member of (excess weight) by distribution of pressure
noun (ˈdɪstʃɑːdʒ; dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ)
13.
a person or thing that is discharged
14.
  1. dismissal or release from an office, job, institution, etc
  2. the document certifying such release
15.
the fulfilment of an obligation or release from a responsibility or liability: honourable discharge
16.
the act of removing a load, as of cargo
17.
a pouring forth of a fluid; emission
18.
  1. the act of firing a projectile
  2. the volley, bullet, missile, etc, fired
19.
(law)
  1. a release, as of a person held under legal restraint
  2. an annulment, as of a court order
20.
(physics)
  1. the act or process of removing or losing charge or of equalizing a potential difference
  2. a transient or continuous conduction of electricity through a gas by the formation and movement of electrons and ions in an applied electric field
21.
  1. the volume of fluid flowing along a pipe or a channel in unit time
  2. the output rate of a plant or piece of machinery, such as a pump
Derived Forms
dischargeable, adjective
discharger, noun
Word Origin and History for discharge
v.

early 14c., "to exempt, exonerate, release," from Old French deschargier (12c., Modern French décharger) "to unload, discharge," from Late Latin discarricare, from dis- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + carricare "load" (see charge (v.)).

Meaning "to unload, to free from" is late 14c. Of weapons, from 1550s. The electrical sense is first attested 1748. Meaning "to fulfill, to perform one's duties" is from c.1400. Related: Discharged; discharging.

n.

late 14c., "relief from misfortune," see discharge (v.). Meaning "release from work or duty" is from early 15c.

discharge in Medicine

discharge dis·charge (dĭs-chärj')
v. dis·charged, dis·charg·ing, dis·charg·es

  1. To emit a substance, as by excretion or secretion.

  2. To release a patient from custody or care.

  3. To generate an electrical impulse. Used of a neuron.

n. (dĭs'chärj', dĭs-chärj')

  1. The act of releasing, emitting, or secreting.

  2. A substance that is excreted or secreted.

  3. The generation of an electrical impulse by a neuron.

discharge in Science
discharge
  (dĭs-chärj')   
Noun  

  1. The conversion of chemical energy to electric energy within a storage battery.

  2. A flow of electricity in a dielectric, especially in a rarefied gas.

  3. A flowing out or pouring forth, as of a bodily fluid; emission or secretion.

  4. A substance or material that is released, emitted, or excreted, especially from the body.


Verb  

  1. To undergo or cause the release of stored energy or electric charge, as from a battery or capacitor.

  2. To release, emit, or excrete a substance, especially from the body.