dispatch

American  

[dih-spach] / dɪˈspætʃ /

Or despatch

verb (used with object)

• dispatches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dispatched,
  past participle,  past
• dispatching
  present participle

1. to send off or away with speed, as a messenger, telegram, body of troops, etc.

2. to dismiss (a person), as after an audience.

3. to put to death; kill.

   The spy was promptly dispatched.

4. to transact or dispose of (a matter) promptly or speedily.

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verb (used without object)

• dispatches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dispatched,
  past participle,  past
• dispatching
  present participle

1. Archaic. to hasten; be quick.

noun

• dispatches
  plural

1. the sending off of a messenger, letter, etc., to a destination.

2. the act of putting to death; killing; execution.

3. prompt or speedy transaction, as of business.

4. expeditious performance; promptness or speed.

   Proceed with all possible dispatch.

   Synonyms:

   celerity, alacrity, haste, rapidity

5. Commerce.

   1. a method of effecting a speedy delivery of goods, money, etc.

   2. a conveyance or organization for the expeditious transmission of goods, money, etc.

6. a written message sent with speed.

7. an official communication sent by special messenger.

8. Journalism. a news story transmitted to a newspaper, wire service, or the like, by one of its reporters, or by a wire service to a newspaper or other news agency.

idioms

1. mentioned in dispatches, honored by being named in official military reports for special bravery or acts of service.

dispatch British  

/ dɪˈspætʃ /

verb

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

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noun

1. the act of sending off a letter, messenger, etc

2. prompt action or speed (often in the phrase with dispatch )

3. an official communication or report, sent in haste

4. journalism a report sent to a newspaper, etc, by a correspondent

5. murder or execution

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dispatcher
  noun
• predispatch
  noun
• self-dispatch
  noun
• outdispatch
  verb (used with object)
• redispatch
  verb (used with object)
• undispatched
  adjective
• undispatching
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dispatches
  plural

Participles

• dispatching
  present
• dispatched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dispatch
  simple
• dispatches
  simple
• have dispatched
  perfect
• has dispatched
  perfect
• am dispatching
  progressive
• are dispatching
  progressive
• is dispatching
  progressive
• have been dispatching
  perfect progressive
• has been dispatching
  perfect progressive

Past

• dispatched
  simple
• had dispatched
  perfect
• was dispatching
  progressive
• were dispatching
  progressive
• had been dispatching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dispatch
  simple
• will have dispatched
  perfect
• will be dispatching
  progressive
• will have been dispatching
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of dispatch

1510–20; < Italian dispacciare to hasten, speed, or < Spanish despachar both ultimately < Old French despeechier to unshackle, equivalent to des- dis- ¹ + -peechier < Late Latin -pedicāre to shackle; see impeach

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Explanation

Anything that needs to be mailed, sent off, or quickly shipped needs to be dispatched. Letters, official reports, teams of police — if it has somewhere to be, you can dispatch it to get there. Sometimes spelled despatch, this word was first used in the early 1500s as a verb meaning “to send off in a hurry.” These days we get hurried dispatches in noun and verb form, from journalists sending in their war zone stories to emergency squads getting dispatched to the scene of an accident. And in its most sinister sense, dispatch means to kill off without delay.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dispatch dispatches dispatched dispatching

Read the first part of Slate’s dispatch from Springfield, Ohio, here.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

Other videos have shown Ukrainian authorities using drones to dispatch medicine and food to remaining residents.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

Another problem has been the record-breaking warm waters off the California coast, which are starting to be influenced by an El Niño-fueled dispatch of warmer ocean waters from the Peruvian coastline.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

His grandfather settled in Llandudno and worked as a shoe shop manager after the First World War where he had served as a dispatch rider before being injured by shrapnel.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Many of the men carried dispatch cases and brief cases and I gripped mine with a sense of importance.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

Few people navigate the internet’s light-to-dark spectrum as well as writer-director Jane Schoenbrun, whose films play like dispatches beamed out from the depths of online black holes.

From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026

They were all trailblazers and trendsetters, their tales relayed through continental dispatches and espresso-fuelled Saturday morning showreels.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

“The daily dispatches shine a light on a wide range of often overlooked good news in our community.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

Wolfe had made a name with his full-throated New Journalism dispatches of the 1960s and ’70s, which adopted the techniques of fiction to describe a postwar world that seemed increasingly outlandish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

By delaying publication of the dispatches, he bought time.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

After training, he was initially assigned as a driver, but in November he was dispatched to the eastern bank of the Oskil River, where the Russians were seeking to advance on Kupyansk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Two days after he arrived, Naum dispatched a drone to deliver power banks for the radio and water.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The multinational force dispatched to quell the violence and push back the armed gangs has struggled to penetrate areas where they hold sway.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

This observation was made by Goldman Sachs trader Matthew Kaplan in a daily email dispatched to clients on Thursday.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

For drinking water, sometimes Mom managed to get a jug of tap water from neighbors, or I would be dispatched to sit beneath a leaking pipe connected to another home.

From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

“I expected a very rowdy court, rowdy match,” the 20-year-old Irvine native said after dispatching Monfils in straight sets on Thursday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

The Navy is reportedly dispatching another carrier, the USS George Washington, to replace the Lincoln.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

After dispatching Djokovic, he will have every confidence that he possesses the weaponry and experience to overcome Zverev, who he has not lost to since 2023.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

In part by dispatching health workers with megaphones to remind residents in traffic-clogged streets not to shake hands or hug.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

"And you can be past certain that Lord Stannis will be dispatching his own shepherds to gather in his brother's wayward lambs."

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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