delivery

[dih-liv-uh-ree]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR delivery ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural de·liv·er·ies.

the carrying and turning over of letters, goods, etc., to a designated recipient or recipients.

a giving up or handing over; surrender.

the utterance or enunciation of words.

vocal and bodily behavior during the presentation of a speech: a speaker's fine delivery.

the act or manner of giving or sending forth: the pitcher's fine delivery of the ball.

the state of being delivered of or giving birth to a child; parturition.

something delivered: The delivery is late today.

Commerce. a shipment of goods from the seller to the buyer.

Law. a formal act performed to make a transfer of property legally effective: a delivery of deed.

Printing. Also called delivery end. the part of a printing press where the paper emerges in printed form.

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. 2019

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

Should capability delivery experience additional changes, this estimate will be revised appropriately.
Pentagon Misfires in Stealth Jet Scandal
Dave Majumdar
January 8, 2015
Fewer women are shackled during labor and delivery (PDF), though this still occurs.
The GOP’s Hidden Ban on Prison Abortions
Harold Pollack
December 13, 2014
Of course not—the delivery of vaccine from manufacturer to arm is only part of the problem for any vaccination program.
Powdered Measles Vaccine Could Be Huge for Developing World
Kent Sepkowitz
December 2, 2014
Both countries had coordinated with each other from the beginning, and Reagan himself had authorized the August 1985 delivery.
How the Reagan White House Bungled Its Response to Iran-Contra Revelations
Malcolm Byrne
November 3, 2014
When he accepted the prize, he delivered a speech that has been unfairly ignored because his delivery was so muted.
Martin Luther King’s Nobel Speech Is an Often Ignored Masterpiece
Malcolm Jones
October 16, 2014

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.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
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.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce

British Dictionary definitions for delivery

delivery

noun plural -eries

the act of delivering or distributing goods, mail, etc
something that is delivered
(as modifier)a delivery service

the act of giving birth to a childshe had an easy delivery

manner or style of utterance, esp in public speaking or recitationthe chairman had a clear delivery

the act of giving or transferring or the state of being given or transferred

the act of rescuing or state of being rescued; liberation

sport

the act or manner of bowling or throwing a ball
the ball so delivereda fast delivery

an actual or symbolic handing over of property, a deed, etc

the discharge rate of a compressor or pump

(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

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.

delivery in Medicine

delivery

[dĭ-lĭv′ə-rē, -lĭv′rē]

n.

The expulsion or extraction of a child and the fetal membranes through the birth canal into the external world.