Looking for the right word - expelling pills from a canister

Question

I would appreciate if someone could teach me the appropriate word for what I am trying to say.

1. It must be a verb
2. The meaning is the action that happens when for example a pill or tablet is expelled from a canister automatically from a machine

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Please don't read below this before thinking of a word. (I don't want to influence or interfere your train of thoughts). I am thinking of the word

"dispense"

^{(mouse over box to see word)}

but I am not sure if it is correct. I would be happy for other alternatives.

Answer 1

As @J.R. mentions, dispense is likely the best choice. Dispense has specific meanings for both machines and medication:

of a machine or container: to supply or release (a product or cash)

of a chemist: to make up and give out (medicine) according to a doctor's prescription.

(Source: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/dispense)

In fact, a dispensary is "a place where medicine or dental treatment is dispensed." (Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dispensary)

Looking at the synonyms for dispense, I don't see any great alternative you can use. You might be able to use disburse or allocate, but they imply actions that a human would take, not a machine.

I suppose you could call a machine that dispenses pills a "pill allocator," but it wouldn't be nearly as good as "pill dispenser." "Pill allocator" might be more appropriate if you have a large number and/or wide variety of pills.