- 1[transitive, usually passive] discharge somebody (from something) to give somebody official permission to leave a place or job; to make somebody leave a job Patients were being discharged from the hospital too early. She had discharged herself against medical advice. He was discharged from the army following his injury. She was discharged from the police force for bad conduct. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbdishonourably/dishonorably, honourably/honorably prepositionfrom See full entry See related entries: Medical equipment from prison/court
- 2[transitive, often passive] discharge somebody to allow somebody to leave prison or court He was conditionally discharged after admitting the theft. Wordfinderprisoncell, death row, discharge, justice, parole, prison, probation, remission, sentence, warder Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbconditionally, formally See full entry See related entries: Prison gas/liquid
- 3[intransitive, transitive] when a gas or a liquid discharges or is discharged, or somebody discharges it, it flows somewhere discharge (into something) The river is diverted through the power station before discharging into the sea. discharge something (into something) The factory was fined for discharging chemicals into the river. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbdirectly prepositionfrom, into See full entry force/power
- 4[transitive, intransitive] discharge (something) (specialist) to release force or power Lightning is caused by clouds discharging electricity. duty
- 5[transitive] discharge something to do everything that is necessary to perform and complete a particular duty to discharge your duties/responsibilities/obligations to discharge a debt (= to pay it) Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbfully, properly, faithfully, … See full entry gun
- 6[transitive] discharge something to fire a gun, etc. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbaccidentally See full entry Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘relieve of (an obligation)’): from Old French descharger, from late Latin discarricare ‘unload’, from dis- (expressing reversal) + carricare, carcare ‘to load’, from Latin carrus ‘wheeled vehicle’.Extra examples All the people involved in the accident have now been discharged from hospital. He could not properly discharge his duties. He was found guilty and dishonourably discharged from the army. I will faithfully discharge my duties. Raw sewage was discharged from the treatment plant directly into the river. She was formally discharged by the court. The police officer accidentally discharged a firearm while unloading it. He knocked her hand down and the gun discharged into the floor. His widow was unable to discharge the debt. My condition renders me unable to discharge my duties. The judge took the unusual step of discharging the entire jury halfway through the trial. They gave a cheer and charged, discharging a volley of arrows as they came.
discharge
verbBrE BrE//dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ//; NAmE NAmE//dɪsˈtʃɑːrdʒ//
(formal)Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they discharge BrE BrE//dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ//; NAmE NAmE//dɪsˈtʃɑːrdʒ//
he / she / it discharges BrE BrE//dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒɪz//; NAmE NAmE//dɪsˈtʃɑːrdʒɪz//
past simple discharged BrE BrE//dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒd//; NAmE NAmE//dɪsˈtʃɑːrdʒd//
past participle discharged BrE BrE//dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒd//; NAmE NAmE//dɪsˈtʃɑːrdʒd//
-ing form discharging BrE BrE//dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//dɪsˈtʃɑːrdʒɪŋ//
Prison, Medical equipmentCheck pronunciation: discharge
