distribution

[dis-truh-byoo-shuh n] /ˌdɪs trəˈbyu ʃən/
noun
1.
an act or instance of distributing.
2.
the state or manner of being distributed.
3.
arrangement; classification.
4.
something that is distributed.
5.
the frequency of occurrence or the natural geographic range or place where any item or category of items occurs:
What is the distribution of coniferous forests in the world?
6.
placement, location, arrangement, or disposition:
The distribution of our troops is a military secret.
7.
apportionment:
The court decided the distribution of the property among the heirs.
8.
the delivery or giving out of an item or items to the intended recipients, as mail or newspapers.
9.
the total number of an item delivered, sold, or given out:
The distribution of our school paper is now 800.
10.
the marketing, transporting, merchandising, and selling of any item.
11.
(in bridge and other card games) the way in which the suits of a deck of cards are, or one specific suit is, divided or apportioned in one player's hand or among the hands of all the players:
My distribution was six spades, four hearts, two clubs, and a singleton diamond.
12.
Economics.
  1. the division of the aggregate income of any society among its members, or among the factors of production.
  2. the system of dispersing goods throughout a community.
13.
Statistics. a set of values or measurements of a set of elements, each measurement being associated with an element.
14.
Mathematics. a generalized function used especially in solving differential equations.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin distribūtiōn- (stem of distribūtiō). See distribute, -ion
Related forms
distributional, adjective
misdistribution, noun
nondistribution, noun
nondistributional, adjective
predistribution, noun
prodistribution, adjective
superdistribution, noun
Examples from the web for distribution
  • The company will cut the number of operating groups to two from three, and consolidate plants and distribution centers.
  • Formulate and balance long and short range plans and budgets with respect to utility distribution upgrades.
  • The global distribution of income is becoming ever more unequal.
  • distribution refers to the way something is spread out or arranged over a geographic area.
  • It will be impossible to sustain the unequal land distribution as the population increases.
  • New varieties and hybrids appear every year, but distribution is spotty in local nurseries.
  • Manufacturing and distribution costs are approaching zero.
  • They are trying to keep the rap labels they buy independent rather than integrating them into their huge distribution networks.
  • Then calculate the distribution of the final grades.
  • Since the cost of digital distribution is almost zero, the thinking goes, cinemas ought to gamble on more obscure products.
British Dictionary definitions for distribution

distribution

/ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃən/
noun
1.
the act of distributing or the state or manner of being distributed
2.
a thing or portion distributed
3.
arrangement or location
4.
(commerce) the process of physically satisfying the demand for goods and services
5.
(economics) the division of the total income of a community among its members, esp between labour incomes (wages and salaries) and property incomes (rents, interest, and dividends)
6.
(statistics) the set of possible values of a random variable, or points in a sample space, considered in terms of new theoretical or observed frequency: a normal distribution
7.
(law) the apportioning of the estate of a deceased intestate among the persons entitled to share in it
8.
(law) the lawful division of the assets of a bankrupt among his creditors
9.
(finance)
  1. the division of part of a company's profit as a dividend to its shareholders
  2. the amount paid by dividend in a particular distribution
10.
(engineering) the way in which the fuel-air mixture is supplied to each cylinder of a multicylinder internal-combustion engine
Derived Forms
distributional, adjective
Word Origin and History for distribution
n.

mid-14c., from Old French distribution (13c.) and directly from Latin distributionem (nominative distributio) "a division, distribution," noun of action from past participle stem of distribuere "deal out in portions," from dis- "individually" + tribuere "assign, allot" (see tribute).

distribution in Medicine

distribution dis·tri·bu·tion (dĭs'trə-byōō'shən)
n.

  1. The extension of the branches of arteries or nerves to the tissues and organs.

  2. The area in which the branches of an artery or a nerve terminate, or the area supplied by such an artery or nerve.

  3. A set of numbers and their frequency of occurrence from measurements within a statistical population.

dis'tri·bu'tion·al adj.
distribution in Culture

distribution definition


The process of marketing and merchandising goods. Also, the way in which wealth or goods or services are allotted, as in the distribution of wealth.

distribution in Technology

1. A software source tree packaged for distribution; but see kit.
2. A vague term encompassing mailing lists and Usenet newsgroups (but not BBS fora); any topic-oriented message channel with multiple recipients.
3. An information-space domain (usually loosely correlated with geography) to which propagation of a Usenet message is restricted; a much-underused feature.
[Jargon File]