dispatch

Or des·patch

[dih-spach]

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

1. Archaic.,  to hasten; be quick.

noun

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.

dispatch

/ 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

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dispatch¹

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; impeach

Word History and Origins

Origin of dispatch¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

Example Sentences

A year after being handed a 20-year ban on filmmaking he dispatched a documentary with the title "This is Not a Film" to the Cannes Festival on a flash drive stashed in a cake.

Read more on Barron's

After superb performances in beating rivals Spurs before dispatching Bayern at the Emirates, Sunday's match with Chelsea was always going to be difficult with recovery time limited.

Read more on BBC

Reading the short anthology, it quickly becomes clear why his audio dispatches have always had a prose-like quality often lacking among public radio reporters, whose delivery tends to be as dry as Death Valley.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Officers arrived to a chaotic scene, according to their radio dispatch feeds.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Four years older than me, he was dispatched to an American boarding school in Kodaikanal, a “hill station” scattered across the crevices of the Palani Hills, the eastern stretch of the Western Ghats mountain range.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bulletin 
• instruction 
• missive