What does discharged mean?
Discharged is the past tense and past participle of the verb discharge, a word with remarkably wide application across professional life. In medicine, a patient who has been discharged has been formally released from hospital care because they no longer require treatment. In employment and military contexts, it means dismissed from a position or service — as in being dishonorably discharged from the army. It also describes the physical act of unloading or letting out: cargo discharged from a ship, wastewater discharged into a river, or electrical energy discharged from a capacitor. Finally, it carries an abstract sense of fulfilling an obligation, as in discharging one's duties responsibly. Derived from Old French descharger, meaning 'to unload', the word retains that core idea of removal or release at its heart.
verb (past tense and past participle of discharge)The past tense and past participle of discharge: to release, dismiss, or unload someone or something from a place, duty, or obligation.
- Released from hospital care after treatment.
- Dismissed or removed from employment or military service.
- Emptied, unloaded, or let flow out (of cargo, waste, electricity).
- Performed or carried out (a duty or obligation).
"The patient was discharged from hospital after a full recovery."
"She was discharged from hospital two days after the operation."
"The factory was fined for discharging untreated waste into the river."
A battery can be discharged, a soldier can be discharged, and a river discharges into the sea — one word covering everything from medicine to military to electricity.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of discharged
Discharged derives from the Old French descharger, formed from the prefix des- ('away, undo') plus chargier ('to load'), ultimately tracing back to Late Latin carricare, 'to load onto a cart'. The English word entered the language in the medieval period with its original sense of unloading cargo, later broadening metaphorically to cover releasing people from duties, obligations, or confinement. Cognates include French décharger, Spanish descargar, and Italian scaricare, all preserving the same load-and-unload logic.
Related word forms
How discharged is actually used
Formal register in medical, legal, and military contexts; neutral to formal elsewhere. In medicine, 'discharged' is the standard term for leaving hospital under clinical authorisation.
Easily confused with discharged
"Discharged" means released or emptied (of energy, duties, or contents), while "recharged" means refilled with energy or power.