dismissed; dismissing; dismisses
1
: to permit or cause (someone) to leave
dismiss the visitors
Class is dismissed.
2
: to remove from position or service : discharge
He was dismissed [=fired] from his job.
Several employees were recently dismissed.
3
a
: to reject serious consideration of (something or someone)
dismissed the thought
dismissed her as an amateur
b
law
: to put (an action) out of judicial consideration : to refuse to hear (an action) or to hear (an action) further in court
dismiss all charges
This case is dismissed.
4
: to put out (a batsman) in cricket
Examples of dismiss in a Sentence
I don't think we should dismiss the matter lightly.
The students were dismissed early because of the snowstorm.
Several employees were recently dismissed.
Recent Examples on the Web
In film school, games and anime aren’t celebrated, they’re dismissed.
—
Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Griffin launched a legal challenge and on April 4, a three-judge panel of the North Carolina court of appeals ruled 2-1 that the state's elections board erred in dismissing Griffin's protests about invalid election ballots.
—John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
Stocks temporarily jumped on speculation of a possibly delay in the tariffs, but the White House later dismissed talk of a pause.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
The Trump administration is investigating government lawyers who prosecuted Jan. 6 rioters — and will do the same for prosecutors who refused to dismiss corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams of New York.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dismiss
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Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Griffin launched a legal challenge and on April 4, a three-judge panel of the North Carolina court of appeals ruled 2-1 that the state's elections board erred in dismissing Griffin's protests about invalid election ballots.
—John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
Stocks temporarily jumped on speculation of a possibly delay in the tariffs, but the White House later dismissed talk of a pause.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
The Trump administration is investigating government lawyers who prosecuted Jan. 6 rioters — and will do the same for prosecutors who refused to dismiss corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams of New York.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dismiss
Cite this Entry
“Dismiss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dismiss. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dismiss
verb
dis·miss
dis-ˈmis 
1
: to send away : cause or allow to go
dismissed the troops
2
: to discharge from office, service, or employment
3
: to put aside or out of mind
dismiss the thought
4
: to refuse further judicial hearing or consideration to
the judge dismissed the charge
Etymology
derived from Latin dimissus, past participle of dimittere "to send away," from di-, dis- "away, apart," and mittere "to send, throw" — related to emit
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