dispatch box
A box or case with a lock that is used for carrying dispatches and other documentsA box or case with a lock that is used for carrying dispatches (“important official messages”) and other documents.
Meaning
2 sensesA box or case with a lock that is used for carrying dispatches (“important official messages”) and other documents.
case consisting of an oblong container (usually having a lock) for carrying dispatches or other valuables
(Commonwealth)A box that is placed on a table in a legislative debating chamber and used as a lectern for addressing the legislature.
Origin
From dispatch (“important official message sent by a diplomat, government official, militaFrom dispatch (“important official message sent by a diplomat, government official, military officer, etc.”) + box. Sense 2 (“box placed on a table in a legislative debating chamber and used as a lectern”) is from the fact that in the Parliament of the United Kingdom dispatch boxes used by ministers and other Members of Parliament to carry important documents (sense 1) were formerly used as lecterns; these have generally been replaced by cases, usually made of wood, specifically made to be used as lecterns.
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Forms
plural: dispatch boxesSynonyms
2 synonyms- case consisting of an oblong container (usually having a lock) for carrying dispatches or other valuables:dispatch case