1. Home
2. Idioms
3. dispense with

dispense with

---

---

dispense with someone or something

to get rid of someone or something; to brush someone or something aside. I think we will dispense with that subject for the rest of the day. We will have to dispense with the expensive gifts this year.

See also: dispense

dispense with something

1. to free of something unwanted People who believe we can dispense with government services don't realize how much they need them.

2. to not use something We dispensed with our second car and have saved a lot of money.

See also: dispense

dispense with

1. Manage without, forgo, as in We can dispense with the extra help. Shakespeare had this idiom in Timon of Athens (3:2): "Men must learn now with pity to dispense." [c. 1600]

2. Get rid of, do away with, as in The European Union is trying to dispense with tariff barriers. [Late 1500s]

3. Exempt one from a law, promise, or obligation, as in He asked the court to dispense with swearing on the Bible. This usage originally applied to religious obligations (to which the Pope granted dispensation). [Early 1500s]

See also: dispense

dispense with

v.

To get rid or do away with something; forgo something: The restaurant dispensed with its dress code in order to appeal to a younger crowd.

See also: dispense