dispatcher

American  

[dih-spach-er] / dɪˈspætʃ ər /

noun

• dispatchers
  plural

1. a person who dispatches.

2. a person who oversees the departure of trains, airplanes, buses, etc., as for a transportation company or railroad.

3. Slang. dispatchers, a fraudulently made pair of dice; loaded dice.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• predispatcher
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dispatchers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dispatcher

First recorded in 1540–50; dispatch + -er ¹

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dispatcher dispatchers

It was, recalled the EMS dispatcher on duty that night in Queens, “a horror.”

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 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

“My father has been illegally detained,” he told the dispatcher nervously, stumbling over his words.

From Salon ● Mar. 24, 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

AI may even raise employment within a given industry, since higher productivity lowers prices, lifting demand for more labor: Uber added far more drivers than it cut dispatchers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

The one year pay deal covers Menzies dispatchers, allocators, airside agents, and controllers.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

PJM’s energy dispatchers essentially function as air-traffic controllers, rerouting power as needed to meet demand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

According to recordings of dispatch audio from San Diego police reviewed by The Times, dispatchers told officers in the field at approximately 11:05 a.m. to be on the lookout for a “possible terroristic threat.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

It was an odd and familiar sound—Joe Castiglione’s voice and the crack of the bat, layered with occasional farty blips and cryptic messages between cops and dispatchers.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Related Words

• courier
• emissary
• go-between
• mediator
• prophet