/ dɪˈspɜːs; NAmE dɪˈspɜːrs/ verb
1.
to move apart and go away in different directions; to make sb/sth do this :
[ v ]
The fog began to disperse.
The crowd dispersed quickly.
[ vn ]
Police dispersed the protesters with tear gas.
2.
to spread or to make sth spread over a wide area
SYN scatter :
[ vn ]
The seeds are dispersed by the wind.
[also v ]
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Latin dispers- scattered, from the verb dispergere , from dis- widely + spargere scatter, strew.