dispatching former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

Question

dispatching = putting to death summarily?

Context:

McCain easily won the Republican primary in Wisconsin with 55 percent of the vote, dispatching former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and edging closer to the 1,191 delegates he needs to clinch the GOP nomination at the party convention in St. Paul, Minn. next summer. The Arizona senator also won the primary in Washington, where 19 delegates were at stake, with 49 percent of the vote in incomplete results.

Nona the brit · Accepted Answer

No, not killing him, just getting rid of him/stopping him counting. It's basically a dramatic way of saying he beat Huckabee in the vote.

NL888 · Answer

Yes, he really killed his political life in possible forthcoming presidency...

Thanks for replying.

BarbaraPA · Answer

No, NL, you're still using the wrong definition of the word. It's not a metaphorical use of "to kill" as applied to his career.

It's much simpler than that - see this fourth definition at www.m-w.com:

1: to send off or away with promptness or speed; especially : to send off on official business and also:

3: to dispose of (as a task) rapidly or efficiently

4: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defeat 3

Other meanings:

To relegate to a specific destination or send on specific business. See synonyms at send¹ (answers.com)

dispose of rapidly and without delay and efficiently; "He dispatched the task he was assigned" (http://www.wordreference.com/definition/dispatch )

dispatching former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

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