dispatch
English · Français · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
dispatch
- /dɪˈspæt͡ʃ/ UK
- /dɪˈspæt͡ʃ/ Australia, Canada, US
- /dəˈspæt͡ʃ/ Australia, Canada, US
- /dəˈspɛt͡ʃ/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -ætʃ
Where it comes from
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).
verb dispatches · dispatching · dispatched · depeche · despatch
- To send (a shipment) with promptness.
- To send (a person) away hastily. 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
- To send (an important official message) promptly, by means of a diplomat or military officer.
- To send (a journalist) to a place in order to report. Scores of foreign journalists have been dispatched to Seoul to report on the growing tensions between the two Koreas and the possibility of war.
-
To dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform.
Yet, ere we put ourselves in arms, dispatch we / The business we have talk'd of.
Similar: expedite
- To eat, especially quickly.
- To rid; to free. But whā I had cleane diſpatched myſelf of this great charge and taſke, I loked not that I ſhould at any tyme afterwarde have any more to doe with this kynde of writing
- To destroy (someone or something) quickly and efficiently. Those who were not the first to dip their spears in the blood of the victims, but merely helped to despatch them
- To defeat Gareth Southgate's side had little trouble dispatching the side 172nd in the Fifa rankings.
- To pass on for further processing, especially via a dispatch table (often with to). 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[…]
- To hurry. prithee, dispatch
- To deprive.
Similar: make haste, send
noun dispatches · depeche · despatch
- 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. 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
- The act of doing something quickly. We must act with dispatch in this matter.
- A mission by an emergency response service, typically involving attending to an emergency in the field.
- The passing on of a message for further processing, especially through a dispatch table.
- A dismissal.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: expedition, expeditiousness, hit, send off, remove, despatch, bump off, complete, slay, discharge, murder, polish off, communique, shipment, speed, speediness
verb
Similar: make haste, send
Translations
Every language
verb to destroy quickly and efficiently
| Español | despacharse |
|---|---|
| Русский | расправля́ться с raspravljátʹsja s |
verb to send with promptness
| Español | despachar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 派遣 pàiqiǎn, 調度 /调度 diàodù, 發送 /发送 fāsòng |
| Português | despachar |
| Deutsch | verschicken, versenden |
| Română | expedia |
| Русский | отправля́ть otpravljátʹ, отпра́вить otprávitʹ, высыла́ть vysylátʹ, вы́слать výslatʹ |
verb to hurry
| Español | despachar |
|---|---|
| Português | apressar-se |
| Deutsch | beeilen |
| Ελληνικά | βιάζομαι viázomai |
| Русский | спешить spešitʹ |
noun message sent quickly
| Español | despacho, envío urgente |
|---|---|
| Português | despacho |
| Français | dépêche |
| Deutsch | Depesche, Eilbotschaft, Eilbenachrichtigung |
| Română | depeșă, telegramă |
| Русский | депеша depeša |
noun act of dispatching
| Español | envío, despacho, comunicado |
|---|---|
| Português | despacho |
| Ελληνικά | αποστολή apostolí |
| Română | expediere |
| Русский | экспеди́ция ekspedícija |
noun computing: the passing on of a message for further processing
| 日本語 | ディスパッチ disupacchi |
|---|
Talk about this word "dispatch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dispatch. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. dispatch. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dispatch "dispatch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dispatch.Cite this
@misc{dispatch_2026,
title = {dispatch},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dispatch},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
