dispatch

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish despachar and/or Italian dispacciare. Further etymology is uncertain. For first element des-, see dis-. Second element probably from either Vulgar Latin *pactāre (“to fasten"”), *pactiare or Latin -pedicāre (“to entrap, shackle”), from pedica, from pēs. Ultimately related to impeach through shared Latin root. The first known use in writing (in the past tense, spelled as dispached) is by Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall in 1517. This would be unusually early for a borrowing from a Romance language other than French, but Tunstall had studied in Italy and was Commissioner to Spain, so this word may have been borrowed through diplomatic circles. The alternative spelling despatch was introduced in Samuel Johnson's dictionary, probably by accident.

Compare typologically deliver (for the meaning to bring or transport) (< Latin dē- + līberō).

Pronunciation

Verb

dispatch (third-person singular simple present dispatches, present participle dispatching, simple past and past participle dispatched)

  1. (transitive) To send (a shipment) with promptness.
  2. (transitive) To send (a person) away hastily.
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Salarians: League of One Codex entry:
      The League of One was suddenly exposed and in danger of being hunted by enemies of the salarians. Before any harm could be done, the team mysteriously disappeared.[...]Realizing the threat posed by this rogue outfit, the Special Tasks Group dispatched a team of hunters. When they didn't return, the STG dispatched ten of its brightest operators with broad discretionary powers. Only two returned; they reported no evidence of the League.
  3. (transitive) To send (an important official message) promptly, by means of a diplomat or military officer.
  4. (transitive) To send (a journalist) to a place in order to report.
  5. (transitive) To dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform.
    Synonym: expedite
  6. (transitive) To eat, especially quickly.
  7. (transitive) To rid; to free.
  8. (transitive) To destroy (someone or something) quickly and efficiently.
    Synonyms: destroy, kill
    • 1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament, volume 1, page 95:
      Those who were not the first to dip their spears in the blood of the victims, but merely helped to despatch them
    • 2008, Monte Dwyer, Red In The Centre: The Australian Bush Through Urban Eyes, Monyer Pty Ltd, page 146:
      "And our dogs used to tree the cats on our property here, and we'd dispatch them."
    • 2017 August 27, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club‎[3], archived from the original on 5 September 2026:
      So Tyrion hatches one last brilliant scheme in a season full of them, and this one goes exactly as well as all the others, even if it doesn’t look like it at first. He alone takes a meeting with Cersei, in her chambers, with the Mountain ready and waiting to dispatch him.
  9. (transitive) To defeat
    • 2023 June 17, Emma Smith, “Malta 0-4 England”, in BBC Sport‎[4], archived from the original on 16 November 2025:
      Gareth Southgate's side had little trouble dispatching the side 172nd in the Fifa rankings.
  10. (transitive, computing) To pass on for further processing, especially via a dispatch table (often with to).
    • 2004, Peter Gutmann, Cryptographic Security Architecture: Design and Verification, page 102:
      These handlers perform any additional checking and processing that may be necessary before and after a message is dispatched to an object. In addition, some message types are handled internally by the kernel […]
  11. (intransitive, obsolete) To hurry.
  12. (transitive, obsolete) To deprive.

Synonyms

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Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

dispatch (countable and uncountable, plural dispatches)

  1. A message sent quickly, as a shipment, a prompt settlement of a business, or an important official message sent by a diplomat, government official, military officer, etc.
    • 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:
      WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets. They also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies.
  2. The act of doing something quickly.
    Synonyms: haste, hurry, rapidity
    We must act with dispatch in this matter.
    • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond‎[5]:
      During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]
    • 2012 December 1, “An internet of airborne things”, in The Economist, volume 405, number 8813, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3 (Technology Quarterly):
      A farmer could place an order for a new tractor part by text message and pay for it by mobile money-transfer. A supplier many miles away would then take the part to the local matternet station for airborne dispatch via drone.
  3. A mission by an emergency response service, typically involving attending to an emergency in the field.
  4. (computing) The passing on of a message for further processing, especially through a dispatch table.
  5. (obsolete) A dismissal.

Derived terms

Translations

References

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