Advertisement

View synonyms for dispatch

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
“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


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
“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
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • disˈpatcher, noun
Discover More

Other Words From

  • 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 adjective
  • undis·patching adjective
Discover More

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
Discover More

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
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

The information remains private in both cases, even though dispatch centers have access to it.

In a series of dispatches, writers look at new ways to tackle issues from closing the digital divide and mapping insect populations to measuring societal health and encouraging long-term thinking.

Each dispatch might be less in-depth, but still filled with the news-you-can-use, resources, and inspiration you need to better stay on top of a rapidly changing world.

From Fortune

DeJoy has claimed that the lone operational change he instituted was enforcing a stricter dispatch schedule of mail transportation trucks and letter carriers to their daily rounds.

For example, the reforms encourage officers to increase their casual presence in certain communities and include social workers in their dispatch runs.

From Vox

What got leaked to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on October 22?

Det. Johnson left in an elevator and I found myself alone in the building, save two women in the dispatch center.

He presumably felt he owed it to himself to make one more visit to hell and report back with a cliché-busting dispatch.

And a recording of the police dispatch seems to blow the case to bits.

He initially sent that letter to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The Colonel read the dispatch of Captain Duffield, sitting on his bed in his nightclothes.

The Weekly Dispatch's accounts of the next world are well worth staying alive for.

I am pushing the smiths as hard as possible, and you must do the same at your works, that the greatest dispatch may be made.

If the offeree sent a telegram, then he would be obliged to prove the delivery of the dispatch.

Before leaving Verdun he had seen Pierrepont enter the telegraph bureau—to dispatch a message to the Sûreté, without a doubt.

Advertisement

Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


dispassionatedispatch boat