What does disbursement mean?
A disbursement is money paid out of a fund, account, or treasury, whether considered as an act of payment or as the sum itself. The word belongs to the formal vocabulary of finance and administration: governments make disbursements from public budgets, charities record disbursements in their accounts, and banks schedule the disbursement of loan proceeds. Because it signals an organized, institutional payout rather than casual spending, it lends precision to financial writing — an auditor reviewing disbursements wants to know exactly what was paid, to whom, and why. The term derives from 'disburse', which traces back through French 'desbourser', literally 'to take out of the purse', from 'burse' meaning purse. Its closest confusable, reimbursement, refers instead to money returned to someone who has already spent their own, making the distinction important in expense accounting. For anyone reading budgets, grant agreements, or financial statements, disbursement is an essential and precise term.
nounThe act of paying out money, especially from a fund or for a specific purpose; also the sum of money so paid out.
- The act of paying out money from a fund, account, or treasury.
- An amount of money that has been paid out; a specific payment or expenditure.
"The charity's annual report listed every disbursement made from the relief fund."
"The university approved the disbursement of scholarship funds at the start of each semester."
"All disbursements must be documented and countersigned by two officers of the trust."
Used when referring to multiple payments or payments considered collectively, as in ledgers, budgets, and financial reports.
"Quarterly disbursements are itemized in the treasurer's report."
'Burse' in disbursement is the same word that gives us 'bourse' — the French stock exchange — tracing back to the leather purse medieval merchants kept their coin in.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of disbursement
Disbursement derives from the verb 'disburse', formed in English around the late 16th century on the model of French 'desbourser', from 'des-' (expressing removal) plus 'bourser', from 'burse' meaning purse or money bag. That noun came ultimately from Late Latin 'bursa', itself borrowed from Greek 'byrsa', meaning hide or leather — fitting, since early purses were made of leather. The same Latin root gives us 'bourse', the French term for a stock exchange, and underlies 'reimburse'.
Related word forms
How disbursement is actually used
Disbursement belongs chiefly to formal, financial, and administrative registers — it appears most often in accounting reports, grant agreements, government budgets, and legal documents rather than everyday conversation. It carries a neutral, professional connotation and typically implies payment from an institutional source such as a fund, loan facility, or public budget. In accounting contexts it may refer to petty-cash outlays recorded in a disbursement journal.
Easily confused with disbursement
A disbursement is money paid out by an organization or fund, whereas a reimbursement is money repaid to someone who has already spent their own funds.
Dispersal refers to scattering or spreading things or people over an area, while disbursement refers specifically to paying out money.