From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdispersedi‧sperse /dɪˈspɜːs $ -ɜːrs/ ●○○ verb [intransitive, transitive] 1 LEAVE A PLACEif a group of people disperse or are dispersed, they go away in different directions Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.2 SPREADif something disperses or is dispersed, it spreads in different directions over a wide area The clouds dispersed as quickly as they had gathered.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
disperse• It was at this point that police initially peacefully and totally unsuccessfully, sought to persuade the protesters to disperse.• People are being advised to stay away until the fumes have dispersed.• Once the ambulance had left, the crowd began to disperse.• The arrival of armed police made the students disperse.• Twenty five officers were injured when police moved in to disperse a crowd of 200-300 youths.• They dispersed a crowd of whites and seized weapons in the black section of town.• Federal troops were used to disperse a crowd that tried to storm the jail.• The crowd began dispersing as soon as the ambulance had driven away.• The oil had been dispersed by chemicals sprayed on the water.• Such ambiguity is dispersed by the Maastricht Treaty.• Yet, Lee knew very well that supplies were always short and had to be dispersed carefully, often during battle itself.• One resident said the student protesters dispersed peacefully.• National Guard troops were called in to disperse the crowd.• Police dispersed the crowds with teargas, and tanks were stationed in the city.• He said those details include determining where and how firefighting and emergency medical equipment will be dispersed throughout the city.Origin disperse (1300-1400) French disperser, from Latin dispergere “to scatter” 