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dispatch

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To send with promptness.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

dihspach

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

dɪsˈpætʃ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To send (a shipment) with promptness.

  2. Send away towards a designated goal

  3. transitive

    To send (a person) away hastily.

  4. transitive

    To send (an important official message) promptly, by means of a diplomat or military officer.

  5. transitive

    To dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform.

  6. transitive

    To send (a journalist) to a place in order to report.

noun

  1. An official report (usually sent in haste)

  2. The act of sending off something

  3. The act of doing something quickly.

  4. A mission by an emergency response service, typically involving attending to an emergency in the field.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To send (a shipment) with promptness.

Used this way, dispatch is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use dispatch

  • “He dispatched the task he was assigned.”verb
  • “The traitor was dispatched by the conspirators.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

daily dispatchpost dispatchweekly dispatch

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • dispatchernounInflected form

    The official who signals the beginning of a race or competition.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • dispatch boxnounCompound term

    Case consisting of an oblong container (usually having a lock) for carrying dispatches or other valuables.

  • dispatch casenounCompound term

    Case consisting of an oblong container (usually having a lock) for carrying dispatches or other valuables.

  • dispatch ridernounCompound term

    A messenger who carries military dispatches (usually on a motorcycle).

  • train dispatchernounCompound term

    A railroad employer who is in charge of a railway yard.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: to send (a shipment) with promptness

despatch

noun

Sense: official report (usually sent in haste)

despatchcommunique

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.