Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - dispatch

~1 also despatch BrE v 1 formal to send someone or something somewhere for a particular purpose  (dispatch sb/sth to)  (A reporter was dispatched to Naples to cover the riot.) 2 old-fashioned to deliberately kill a person or animal 3 old-fashioned to finish all of something ~2 also despatch BrE n 1 a message sent between military or government officials  (a dispatch from headquarters) 2 a report sent to a newspaper from one of its writers who is in another town or country 3 with dispatch formal if you do something with dispatch, you do it well and quickly 4 the act of sending people or things to a particular place  (- see also mentioned in dispatches mention1 (6))