Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense dispatches, present participle dispatching, past tense, past participle dispatchedregional note: in BRIT, also use despatch
1. verb
If you dispatch someone to a place, you send them there for a particular reason.
[formal]
He dispatched scouts ahead. [VERB noun adverb/preposition]
The Italian government was preparing to dispatch 4,000 soldiers to search the island. [VERB noun to-infinitive]
Dispatch is also a noun.
The despatch of the task force is purely a contingency measure. [+ of]
2. verb
If you dispatch a message, letter, or parcel, you send it to a particular person or destination.
[formal]
The victory inspired him to dispatch a gleeful telegram to Roosevelt. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]
Free gifts are dispatched separately so please allow 28 days for delivery. [beVERB-ed]
[Also VERB noun]
Dispatch is also a noun.
We have 125 cases ready for dispatch.
3. countable noun
A dispatch is a special report that is sent to a newspaper or broadcasting organization by a journalist who is in a different town or country.
...this despatch from our West Africa correspondent.
Synonyms: message, news, report, story More Synonyms of dispatch
4. countable noun
A dispatch is a message or report that is sent, for example, by army officers or government officials to their headquarters.
I was carrying dispatches from the ambassador.
See to be mentioned in dispatches
5. verb
To dispatch a person or an animal means to kill them.
[old-fashioned]
The hunters caught the bear and dispatched him immediately. [VERB noun]
6. verb
To dispatch a job or task means to finish it quickly and efficiently without wasting time.
[old-fashioned]
Amy sat outside in the sun while Gerald despatched his business. [VERB noun]
7. uncountable noun [withN]
If you do something with dispatch, you do it very quickly.
[old-fashioned]
He feels we should act with despatch.
Synonyms: speed, haste, promptness, alacrity More Synonyms of dispatch
More Synonyms of dispatch
dispatch in British English
or despatch (dɪˈspætʃ)
verb(transitive)
1.
to send off promptly, as to a destination or to perform a task
2.
to discharge or complete (a task, duty, etc) promptly
3. informal
to eat up quickly
4.
to murder or execute
noun
5.
the act of sending off a letter, messenger, etc
6.
prompt action or speed (often in the phrase with dispatch)
7.
an official communication or report, sent in haste
8. journalism
a report sent to a newspaper, etc, by a correspondent
9.
murder or execution
Derived forms
dispatcher (disˈpatcher)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Italian dispacciare, from Provençal despachar, from Old French despeechier to set free, from des-dis-1 + -peechier, ultimately from Latin pedica a fetter
dispatch in American English
(dɪˈspætʃ; for n., esp. 8-9, also ˈdɪsˌpætʃ)
verb transitive
1.
to send off or out promptly, usually on a specific errand or official business
2.
to put an end to; kill
3.
to finish quickly or promptly
4. Informal
to eat up quickly
noun
5.
a dispatching; sending out or off
6.
an act of killing
7.
efficient speed; promptness
8.
a message, esp. an official message
9.
a news story sent to a newspaper or broadcaster, as by a correspondent
SIMILAR WORDS: haste, kill
Word origin
Sp despachar & It dispacciare, to send off, lit., to remove impediments, hence facilitate < OFr despeechier < des- (see di-1) + (em)peechier, to impede < LL impedicare, to entangle < L in-, in + pedica, a shackle < pes, foot
Examples of 'dispatch' in a sentence
dispatch
Cabinet ministers will also be dispatched to those places that have been left behind by the economic growth of recent decades to sell the Government's plan.
The Sun (2017)
See if you can look across the dispatch box and just say it!
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
They dispatched a reaction force and his fears were confirmed.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Last year the government dispatched army units to patrol national parks.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
If anyone behaves like that on a rugby pitch they get dispatched pretty quickly.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It will also dispatch bundles of antiviral drugs to hospitals and clinics.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Military bosses have been begging him for almost a year to dispatch thousands more troops.
The Sun (2009)
He leaned one elbow on the dispatch box and turned round to his backbenchers.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Britain did not just support her allies with gold but she also dispatched her own troops to fight in their support.
French, David The British way in Warfare - 1688-2000 (1990)
He was also mentioned in dispatches.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
An official was dispatched to London to collect copies of our tapes.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The usual letters were dispatched, but to no avail.
Higonnet, Anne Berthe Morisot (1990)
Once the cricket had begun, a motorcycle dispatch rider arrived.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
On the platform or at the dispatch box he was well-informed and credible.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This he did, dispatching a small force to scout after the "army" disappearing over the hills.
Jepson, Tim Umbria - the green heart of Italy (1989)
A delegation was duly dispatched to the Milan dressing room and the rest is history.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Lean forward and I was a second world war dispatch rider.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
I had just finished my dispatch of yesterday when information reached me of the hour at which the great attack would begin this morning.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The possibility that the British might have to dispatch an army to Europe gradually faded from sight.
French, David The British way in Warfare - 1688-2000 (1990)
This time, a young British official was dispatched to rustle something up.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
That was a fortuitous rebound, but he seemed to dispatch it so quickly with his left, not his favoured foot.
The Sun (2008)
To ensure you a good welcome I myself will send a dispatch which will reach France as soon as you do.
Paul Hyland RALEGH'S LAST JOURNEY: A Tale of Madness, Vanity and Treachery (2003)
In other languages
dispatch
British English: dispatch VERB
If you dispatch someone to a place, you send them there for a particular reason.
He dispatched scouts ahead.
American English: dispatch
Brazilian Portuguese: despachar
Chinese: 派遣
European Spanish: enviar
French: envoyer
German: senden
Italian: mandare
Japanese: 派遣する
Korean: 파견하다
European Portuguese: despachar
Latin American Spanish: enviar
All related terms of 'dispatch'
dispatch box
a case or box used to hold valuables or documents, esp official state documents
dispatch case
a case used for carrying papers, documents , books, etc, usually flat and stiff
dispatch rider
a messenger who delivers urgent documents or military dispatches by motorcycle , bicycle , or (formerly) on horseback
dispatch documents
documents sent with a parcel , etc, detailing information such as contents , delivery address , etc
dispatch department
the department of an organization responsible for the dispatch of orders