despatch

English

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /dɪˈspætʃ/
• (Australia) IPA: /dəˈspætʃ/
• (GenAm) IPA: /dɪˈspætʃ/
• Rhymes: -ætʃ

Adjective

despatch (not comparable)

1. holding despatches
   • 1931, Francis Beeding, chapter 1/1, Death Walks in Eastrepps^[1]:

     Eldridge closed the despatch-case with a snap and, rising briskly, walked down the corridor to his solitary table in the dining-car.

Noun

despatch (plural despatches)

1. Alternative form of dispatch. (see also Wikipedia's Mentioned in Despatches)
   • 1843, William Hickling Prescott, The Conquest of Mexico, Volume 1, 1957, page 31,

     The courier, bearing his despatches in the form of a hieroglyphical painting, ran with them to the first station, […] .

Verb

despatch (third-person singular simple present despatches, present participle despatching, simple past and past participle despatched)

1. Alternative form of dispatch.
   • 1833, Massachusetts Medical Society, New England Surgical Society, Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, Volumes 8-9, page 31,

     She fainted, was got into bed, and a messenger was despatched for me.