a letter on some affair of state or other business of importance, sent with care and expedition, by a courier express. The business of dispatches is conducted by the secretaries of state and their clerks. The king gives directions to his ministers abroad by dispatches. The word is also used for the packet or mail containing such letters.

The French, during the reign of Louis XIV., had a conseil des dépêches, or council of dispatches, held in the king's presence, at which the dauphin, the Duke of Orleans, the chancellor, and four secretaries of state, assisted.