dole

dole¹ Definition

dole (dōl)

noun

a giving out of money or food to those in great need; relief
that which is thus given out
anything given out sparingly
a form of payment by a government to the unemployed, as in England: usually preceded by the
Archaic one's destiny or lot

Etymology: ME dol < OE dal, a share, parallel to dæl: see deal

transitive verb doled, doling dol′·ing

to give sparingly or as a dole: usually with out

dole¹ Idioms

on the dole

receiving government relief funds

dole² Definition

dole (dōl)

noun

Archaic sorrow; dolor

Etymology: see doleful

dole Synonyms

dole Usage Examples

Object

scrounger: Creative forces felt compelled to speak out against the Tory moral panic against " dole scroungers " , or Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative.
queue: How would you ensure the dole queues in South Tyneside do not increase?
office: Where the parties can be in a quarry in East London, a disused cinema or an old dole office.
money: We dole money out to help support ourselves, really.
cupboard: We enter through it, past the dole cupboard of John Sayer, 1638.
scum: With Robert's status as dole scum apparently assured, the Snells are tightening their belts.

Modifies a noun

check: What are you expecting, the government to hand you out a nice flat with your dole check?
money: Quentin Crisp, who died last November and who once worked as a map tracer until he could draw his 15s 3d dole money.
queue: Defense procurement can not be a short term palliative to the dole queue.

Modifying Another Word

not: The United States will not dole out any rewards to convince North Korea to live up to its existing obligations.
no: My father, being self employed, had no dole to fall back on, no assistance from the state at all.

Particle object:

money: In short, the next generation of the university RAE should dole out money by looking far into the past.
punishment: These weapons are some of the most lethal in the game and will allow Bishop or Sheila to dole out some serious punishment.
advice: DEAR JOHN 28 June 2006 JOHN Husband and his team dole out sound money advice.
credit: No problem for the banks and lenders tho, they just dole out some more credit and make a quick buck while they can!
pill: If the worst happens, any pharmacy will dole out pills to hurry you back to health.

Used with why or when

Preposition: of

bread: The £ 10 belonging to eight poor persons of this parish is distributed by the churchwardens in weekly doles of bread.

Preposition: for

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