- [uncountable] (formal) the act of sending somebody/something somewhere
- More food supplies are ready for immediate dispatch.
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- [countable] a message or report sent quickly from one military officer to another or between government officials
- The latest dispatch was held up for three hours at the border.
- He was mentioned in dispatches (= for brave acts in war).
- [countable] a report sent to a newspaper by a journalist who is working in a foreign country
- dispatches from the war zone
Word Originearly 16th cent.: from Italian dispacciare or Spanish despachar ‘expedite’, from dis-, des- (expressing reversal) + the base of Italian impacciare, Spanish empachar ‘hinder’.
Idioms
See dispatch in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarywith dispatch
- (formal) quickly and efficiently
- He carries out his duties with efficiency and dispatch.
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dispatch