Home › Dining Out & Food Culture › Food Delivery & Takeout › dispatch

dispatch

dih-SPATCH /dɪˈspætʃ/

verbnounB2IELTSTOEFLGRE

businessformal

To send off to a destination or for a purpose with speed and efficiency; or the act of sending.

Focuses on the administrative or operational act of releasing a vehicle, person, or shipment.

The story behind the word. Originating from Spanish 'despachar', meaning 'to remove hindrances' or 'expedite', the word entered English in the 16th century to describe sending urgent messages rapidly.

Word relationships

transmit: Transmit usually applies to signals, messages, or data rather than physical drivers or goods.
issue: Issue implies releasing permissions or official statements, while dispatch implies sending physical entities on a journey.

recall: To call back or return something rather than sending it away.
retain: To hold back instead of sending out.

Commonly confused with

despise: Despise means to hate intensely, whereas dispatch means to send out.

Word family

dispatcher (noun): A person responsible for directing and routing vehicles or workers.
dispatched (verb): Sent out to a location.

Collocations

dispatch a driver
immediate dispatch
dispatch center
dispatch unit

Idioms & expressions

with dispatch (with speed and efficiency)

Example sentences

"The central terminal will dispatch emergency crews as soon as the signal is confirmed." Emergency services literature
"Automated algorithms dispatch the nearest driver as soon as the kitchen marks an order as ready." Food platform logistics

Memory hook

DISPATCH sounds like DIS-PATCH: remove the patch holding something back so it can move fast! Dispatch sends drivers out on catch.

When not to use

Avoid using to simply mean 'bring' or 'hand over' without the idea of sending forth.

Fun facts

In historical military contexts, 'dispatches' were official written military reports sent by courier from battlefields.