Etymology : Spanish despachar or Italian dispacciare, from Provençal despachar to get rid of, from Middle French despeechier to set free, from Old French, from des- dis- + -peechier ; more at IMPEACH
Pronunciation : di-'spach
Function : verb
Date : 1517
1. sending off, shipment; message, communication; promptness. send off quickly; dismiss; eliminate; kill; conclude with speed and efficiency. dispatch\dis*patch"\ (?; 224), v. t. [imp. & p. p. dispatched ; p. pr. & vb. n. dispatching.] [of. despeechier, f. dépêcher; prob. from pref. des- (l. dis-) + (assumed) ll. pedicare to place obstacles in the way, fr. l. pedica fetter, fr. pes, pedis, foot. see:
foot, and cf. impeach, despatch.] [written also despatch.].
2. to dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform. ere we put ourselves in arms, dispatch we the business we have talked of. [the] harvest men almost in one fair day dispatcheth all the harvest work.
3. to rid; to free. [obs.] i had clean dispatched myself of this great charge.
4. to get rid of by sending off; to send away hastily. unless dispatched to the mansion house in the country they perish among the lumber of garrets.
5. to send off or away; -- particularly applied to sending off messengers, messages, letters, etc., on special business, and implying haste. even with the speediest expedition i will dispatch him to the emperor's cou .
6. to send out of the world; to put to death. the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords. xxiii. 47.
7. To dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform.
8. To rid; to free.
9. To get rid of by sending off; to send away hastily.
10. To send off or away; particularly applied to sending off messengers, messages, letters, etc., on special business, and implying haste.
11. To send out of the world; to put to death.
12. To make haste; to conclude an affair; to finish a matter of business.
13. The act of sending a message or messenger in haste or on important business.
14. Any sending away; dismissal; riddance.
15. The finishing up of a business; speedy performance, as of business; prompt execution; diligence; haste.
16. A message dispatched or sent with speed; especially, an important official letter sent from one public officer to another; often used in the plural; as, a messenger has arrived with dispatches for the American minister; naval or military dispatches.
17. A message transmitted by telegraph. the act of sending off something killing a person or animal the property of being prompt and efficient; "it was done with dispatch" an official report kill without delay; "the traitor was dispatched by the conspirators" send away towards a designated goal dispose of rapidly and without delay and efficiently; "He dispatched the task he was assigned" complete or carry out; "discharge one's duties".
18. dis·patch dispatches dispatching dispatched in BRIT, also use despatc.
19. If you dispatch someone to a place, you send them there for a particular reason. He dispatched scouts ahead The Italian government was preparing to dispatch 4,000 soldiers to search the island. = send Dispatch is also a noun. The despatch of the task force is purely a contingency measure.
20. If you dispatch a message, letter, or parcel, you send it to a particular person or destination. The victory inspired him to dispatch a gleeful telegram to Roosevelt Free gifts are dispatched separately so please allow 28 days for delivery. = send Dispatch is also a noun. We have 125 cases ready for dispatch.
21. A dispatch is a special report that is sent to a newspaper or broadcasting organization by a journalist who is in a different town or country. this despatch from our West Africa correspondent. = bulletin.
22. A dispatch is a message or report that is sent, for example, by army officers or government officials to their headquarters. I was carrying dispatches from the ambassador.
23. To dispatch a person or an animal means to kill them. The fox takes his chance with a pack of hounds which may catch him and despatch him immediately.