- 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 (usually sent in haste)

- 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"

- kill intentionally and with premeditation
"The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered"

- complete or carry out
"discharge one''s duties"

1. 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." -- Shak.

"[The] harvest men . . . almost in one fair day dispatcheth all the harvest work." -- Robynson (More's Utopia).

2. To rid; to free. [Obs.]

"I had clean dispatched myself of this great charge." -- Udall.

3. 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." -- Walpole.

4. 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&?;&?;." -- Shak.

5. To send out of the world; to put to death.

"The company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords." -- Ezek. xxiii. 47.

Syn. -- To expedite; hasten; speed; accelerate; perform; conclude; finish; slay; kill.

1. To make haste; to conclude an affair; to finish a matter of business.

"They have dispatched with Pompey." -- Shak.

1. The act of sending a message or messenger in haste or on important business.

2. Any sending away; dismissal; riddance.

"To the utter dispatch of all their most beloved comforts." -- Milton.

3. The finishing up of a business; speedy performance, as of business; prompt execution; diligence; haste.

"Serious business, craving quick dispatch." -- Shak.

"To carry his scythe . . . with a sufficient dispatch through a sufficient space." -- Paley.

4. 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.

5. A message transmitted by telegraph. [Modern]

Dispatch boat
a swift vessel for conveying dispatches; an advice boat.

Dispatch box
a box for carrying dispatches; a box for papers and other conveniences when traveling.

Syn. -- Haste; hurry; promptness; celerity; speed. See Haste.