dispatch

1 of 2

verb

dis·​patch di-ˈspach 

dispatched; dispatching; dispatches

transitive verb

1

: to send off or away with promptness or speed

dispatch a letter

dispatch an ambulance to the scene

especially : to send off on official business

dispatch a messenger

2

a

: to kill with quick efficiency

dispatched the deer with one shot

b

obsolete : deprive

3

: to dispose of (something, such as a task) rapidly or efficiently

anxious to dispatch the matter

… household business could not be dispatched hastily by Mrs. Tulliver.

—George Eliot

4

: defeat sense 1

easily dispatching each team they played

intransitive verb

archaic : to make haste : hurry

dispatcher

di-ˈspa-chər 

noun

dispatcher

2 of 2

noun

dis·​patch·​er

variants or less commonly despatcher

-chə(r)

plural -s

: one that dispatches or expedites usually as a vocation: such as

a

: an employee of a transportation company who directs the departures of trains, planes, buses, trucks, boats, or other vehicles according to traveling conditions and in the best interests of efficient service

b

: one that assigns jobs to waiting seamen in a hiring hall

c

: one that expedites repair service or delivery of materials or goods within a plant or for customers

d

: a telephone worker who directs the locating, testing, and clearing of trouble on subscriber lines

e

: one that upon receiving reports of forest fire from lookouts organizes men and equipment to combat it

f

: one that directs the departure of passenger elevators (as from the main floor of a large building)

worked as dispatcher at a big hotel

g

: one that receives information about crimes and transmits it by radio to police patrols

h

: one that directs the movement of oil or gas into and through pipeline systems or the disposition of loads and generating capacity on an electric power system

i

: a telegraph worker who directs the flow of messages during times of wire shortage or emergency or who assigns additional personnel when needed

j

: motor boss

Synonyms of dispatch

Verb

• send

Choose the Right Synonym for dispatch

kill, slay, murder, assassinate, dispatch, execute mean to deprive of life.

kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident

frost killed the plants

slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

Examples of dispatch in a Sentence

Verb

Rescue workers were immediately dispatched to the area.

The hotel dispatched a limo to pick us up from the airport.

He dispatched the guard with one bullet.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Most operators simply bale their collections and blindly dispatch them to transit hubs in Eastern Europe or Dubai, where overheads and labor are cheaper. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 8 June 2026

The statement added that on Thursday Laurel Hill Volunteer Fire Company was not dispatched to a call in their own district. —Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 8 June 2026

First responders from the agency, the local police department and EMS crews were dispatched to the building to help rescue the woman, who was in an unknown location. —Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 8 June 2026

Firefighters mounted an aggressive attack when the blaze first sparked, with officials dispatching 19 fire engines from Oceanside and neighboring fire agencies, and Cal Fire sending two air tankers out of Hemet. —Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Spanish despachar or Italian dispacciare, from Occitan despachar to get rid of, from Middle French despechier to set free, from Old French, from des- dis- + -pechier (as in enpechier to ensnare) — more at impeach

First Known Use

Verb

1517, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing dispatch

• dispatch case
• dispatch rider
• with dispatch

Rhymes for dispatch

• attach
• bycatch
• despatch
• detach
• mismatch
• nuthatch
• potlatch
• bache
• batch
• brach
• catch
• hatch

Kids Definition

dispatch

1 of 2 verb

dis·​patch dis-ˈpach 

1

: to send away quickly to a particular place or for a particular purpose

dispatch a messenger

dispatch a train

2

: to put to death : kill

3

: to get done speedily

dispatcher noun

dispatch

2 of 2 noun

1

a

: message sense 1

especially : an important official message

b

: a news story sent in to a newspaper

2

: the sending of a message or messenger

3

: the act of killing

4

: the shipment of goods

5

: promptness in performing a task

did our homework with dispatch