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definitions

delivery

[dih-liv-uh-ree]
See more synonyms for delivery on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural de·liv·er·ies.
  1. the carrying and turning over of letters, goods, etc., to a designated recipient or recipients.
  2. a giving up or handing over; surrender.
  3. the utterance or enunciation of words.
  4. vocal and bodily behavior during the presentation of a speech: a speaker's fine delivery.
  5. the act or manner of giving or sending forth: the pitcher's fine delivery of the ball.
  6. the state of being delivered of or giving birth to a child; parturition.
  7. something delivered: The delivery is late today.
  8. Commerce. a shipment of goods from the seller to the buyer.
  9. Law. a formal act performed to make a transfer of property legally effective: a delivery of deed.
  10. Printing. Also called delivery end. the part of a printing press where the paper emerges in printed form.
  11. Archaic. release or rescue; liberation; deliverance.

Origin of delivery

1400–50; late Middle English delyvere, delyvery < Anglo-French delivrée, noun use of feminine past participle of delivrer to deliver, with suffix assimilated to -ery
Related formsmis·de·liv·er·y, noun, plural mis·de·liv·er·ies.non·de·liv·er·y, noun, plural non·de·liv·er·ies.post·de·liv·er·y, adjectivepre·de·liv·er·y, noun, plural pre·de·liv·er·ies.re·de·liv·er·y, noun, plural re·de·liv·er·ies.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for delivery

transmission, distribution, consignment, shipment, birth, release, drop, commitment, dispatch, conveyance, rendition, post, surrender, portage, mailing, enunciation, diction, modulation, inflection

Examples from the Web for delivery

Contemporary Examples of delivery

Historical Examples of delivery

  • It must not be supposed that this spring day in the spring places had reformed his manner of delivery.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • The work of the individual endured only as long as its delivery lasted.

    The Book of Old English Ballads

    George Wharton Edwards

  • The delivery of ewes and wethers is timed by individual arrangement.

  • The purchaser then brought, or sent, an order on board the ship, for the delivery of the opium.

    Ned Myers

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • The art and practice of selling one's credibility for future delivery.

British Dictionary definitions for delivery

delivery

noun plural -eries
    1. the act of delivering or distributing goods, mail, etc
    2. something that is delivered
    3. (as modifier)a delivery service
  2. the act of giving birth to a childshe had an easy delivery
  3. manner or style of utterance, esp in public speaking or recitationthe chairman had a clear delivery
  4. the act of giving or transferring or the state of being given or transferred
  5. the act of rescuing or state of being rescued; liberation
  6. sport
    1. the act or manner of bowling or throwing a ball
    2. the ball so delivereda fast delivery
  7. an actual or symbolic handing over of property, a deed, etc
  8. the discharge rate of a compressor or pump
  9. (in South Africa) the supply of basic services to communities deprived under apartheid
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for delivery
n.

early 15c., "action of handing over to another," from Anglo-French delivrée, noun use of fem. past participle of Old French délivrer (see deliver). Childbirth sense is attested from 1570s. Of speech, from 1580s. Of a blow, throw of a ball, etc., from 1702.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
delivery in Medicine

delivery

[dĭ-lĭv′ə-rē, -lĭv′rē]
n.
  1. The expulsion or extraction of a child and the fetal membranes through the birth canal into the external world.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.