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Definition of "dole" []

  • Charitable dispensation of goods, especially money, food, or clothing. (noun)
  • A share of money, food, or clothing that has been charitably given. (noun)
  • Chiefly British The distribution by the government of relief payments to the unemployed; welfare. (noun)
  • Archaic One's fate. (noun)
  • To dispense as charity. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "dole" in a sentence
  • "To be on the dole is a horrible experience; therefore it is no worse to be in the torture-chambers of the Gestapo."
  • "We are most anxious in Canada to secure a greater population, but a man who has once received the "dole" argues, "why should I leave England, where the 'dole' is obtainable, and migrate to Canada, where it is not to be secured?""
  • "The actual dole is not that much money – the real advantage for the people at the bottom of the pile for signing on in the UK is housing benefits and not having to pay tax."