distributed

[ dih-strib-yoo-tid ]

adjective

1. Computers.
   1. being or relating to a network of devices, workstations, etc., in different locations connected by means of one or more other networks, allowing each member to carry out some or all of the management and processing of the shared information:

      As computers began to connect across the internet, the CPU evolved from being specifically a central control system to become a node within a distributed network.

   2. being or relating to a single database shared across such a network, especially one integrating multiple smaller databases:

      Back then no one was thinking of distributed databases with hundreds of servers working to keep data consistent across the nodes.

2. Linguistics. (in distinctive feature analysis) characterized by relatively extensive contact or constriction between the articulating organs, as the [sh] in show in contrast to the [s] in so.
3. Statistics. showing a specified type of distribution:

   A randomly distributed dominant gene has a prevalence of 75 percent.

Other Words From

• un·dis·trib·ut·ed adjective
• well-dis·trib·ut·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of distributed¹

distribute + -ed ²

Example Sentences

However, it's important to note that festival tickets are distributed on the coach itself, so you can't cheat the system.

From BBC

“The drugs would often be transported on the food trollies and then distributed at the other end on the house blocks,” Auty says.

From BBC

“We need to be thinking in a more distributed fashion than the centralized systems that are currently being imagined and proposed,” Winter said.

From Los Angeles Times

Most deep-sea subs have a spherical hull, so the effect of the crushing pressure of the deep is distributed equally.

From BBC

Colonna Brothers of North Bergen, N.J., recalled 1.5-ounce Ground Cinnamon and 2.25-ounce Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon distributed nationwide and through mail order.

From Salon

Related Words

• appropriated
• assigned
• dispersed
• scattered
• shared