despatch

[ dih-spach ]

/ dɪˈspætʃ /

verb (used with or without object), noun

dispatch.

Nearby words

Related formsout·des·patch, verb (used with object)un·des·patched, adjective

dispatch

or des·patch

[ dih-spach ]

/ dɪˈspætʃ /

verb (used with object)

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

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

to put to death; kill: The spy was promptly dispatched.

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

verb (used without object)

Archaic. to hasten; be quick.

noun

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

the act of putting to death; killing; execution.

prompt or speedy transaction, as of business.

expeditious performance; promptness or speed: Proceed with all possible dispatch.

Commerce.

a method of effecting a speedy delivery of goods, money, etc.
a conveyance or organization for the expeditious transmission of goods, money, etc.

a written message sent with speed.

an official communication sent by special messenger.

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.

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

SYNONYMS FOR dispatch

9. rapidity, haste, alacrity, celerity.

Related forms

out·dis·patch, verb (used with object)pre·dis·patch, noun, verb (used with object)re·dis·patch, verb (used with object)self-dis·patch, noun

un·dis·patched, adjectiveun·dis·patch·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for despatch

Frontenac defines his position and raises a note of alarm in his very first despatch to the minister for the colonies.
Count Frontenac|William Dawson LeSueur
The despatch of the Salonika force and their outfit are absorbing all my energies.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2|Ian Hamilton
The despatch has not yet arrived, but I fear that the ambassador has died, for he was very ill at Nangasaque.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898|E. H. Blair
Lebrun's missives of 20th December bore fruit seven days later in Chauvelin's despatch to Grenville.
William Pitt and the Great War|John Holland Rose

This morning I received your letter and despatch of the 3rd and 4th instant, and soon after, the enclosed note from Townshend.
Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of George the Third|The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos

British Dictionary definitions for despatch

despatch

/ (dɪˈspætʃ) /

verb

(tr) a less common spelling of dispatch

Derived Formsdespatcher, noun

dispatch

despatch

/ (dɪˈspætʃ) /

verb (tr)

to send off promptly, as to a destination or to perform a task

to discharge or complete (a task, duty, etc) promptly

informal to eat up quickly

to murder or execute

noun

the act of sending off a letter, messenger, etc

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

an official communication or report, sent in haste

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

murder or execution

Derived Formsdispatcher, noun

Word Origin for dispatch

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for despatch

despatch

18c. variant of dispatch (q.v.), apparently the result of an error in the printing of Johnson's dictionary.

dispatch

1510s, "to send off in a hurry," from a word in Spanish (despachar "expedite, hasten") or Italian (dispacciare "to dispatch"). For first element, see dis-. The exact source of the second element has been proposed as Vulgar Latin *pactare "to fasten, fix" or *pactiare, or as Latin -pedicare "to entrap" (from Latin pedica "shackle;" see impeach); and the Spanish and Italian words seem to be related to (perhaps opposites of) Old Provençal empachar "impede." See OED for full discussion. Meaning "to get rid of by killing" is attested from 1520s. Related: Dispatched; dispatching. As a noun, from 1540s, originally "dismissal;" sense of "a message sent speedily" is first attested 1580s.