dispatcher
Americannoun
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a person who dispatches.
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a person who oversees the departure of trains, airplanes, buses, etc., as for a transportation company or railroad.
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Slang. dispatchers, a fraudulently made pair of dice; loaded dice.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dispatcher
Explanation
A dispatcher is someone whose work involves receiving messages and organizing the movement of ambulances and other vehicles. Being a dispatcher requires excellent communication skills in a high-pressure environment. An emergency dispatcher's work day might include getting phone calls from people who need medical assistance or the help of firefighters. A taxi dispatcher, on the other hand, communicates with each cab driver about where to pick up passengers who've called for rides. To dispatch is to send something off quickly, and for most dispatchers, their job is dispatching vehicles.
Vocabulary lists containing dispatcher
"My Favorite Chaperone," Vocabulary from the short story
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"My Favorite Chaperone" by Jean Davies Okimoto
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Lesson 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The dispatcher reported that a 17-year-old boy named Cain Clark left at 6:30 a.m. from his parents’ house with another teen.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
She told the dispatcher she was going to throw up.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Filipino ferry dispatcher Dave Delos Reyes has been handing out N95 masks for nearly three weeks to protect passengers against the smoke that a landfill fire has sent billowing above a stretch of Manila Bay.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
He adds it is a "straightforward solution and it was quite right that EasyJet's dispatcher and captain would not take-off until the airplane was within limits".
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
Just after 6:48 a.m., when the 911 call first came in, the dispatcher called out a 10-50 PI, a personal injury accident, and the coordinates.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
