delivery

American  

[dih-liv-uh-ree] / dɪˈlɪv ə ri /

noun

• deliveries
  plural

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

11. Archaic. release or rescue; liberation; deliverance.

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delivery British  

/ dɪˈlɪvərɪ /

noun

1. 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 child

   she had an easy delivery

3. manner or style of utterance, esp in public speaking or recitation

   the 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 delivered

      a 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misdelivery
  noun
• nondelivery
  noun
• predelivery
  noun
• redelivery
  noun
• postdelivery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• deliveries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of delivery

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English delyvere, delyvery, from Anglo-French delivrée, noun use of feminine past participle of delivrer “to deliver,” with suffix assimilated to -ery; see deliver

Explanation

When you make a delivery, you bring something somewhere. A delivery can be in the form of something physical, as when you receive a delivery in the mail, or verbal, as in the delivery of a speech or address. Delivery once could only mean "the action of handing something to another," but it has a long history of being applied in other ways. The idea of childbirth as being a delivery came about in the 1570's, while the term was applied to a punch in the 1580's, and to throwing a ball in 1702. A verbal delivery is the manner in which a speech is presented. As a comedian, you know the importance of a good delivery — timing the punchline just right.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

delivery deliveries

We got used to contactless delivery, app-based ordering, packages appearing at our doors and transactions completed without speaking to anyone.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

And snafus can be maddening for customers who might be waiting inside cars in the parking lot or expecting home delivery at a specific time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

"Their achievement sits alongside encouraging movement across the sport, from growing attendances and digital audiences to continued improvements in facilities and community delivery."

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Tesla’s artificial-intelligence ambitions depend on a car business that already pays the bills, and the company’s latest delivery report gives shareholders a reason to examine that business more closely.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

As Betsie took them, a small delivery boy appeared.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

The stronger-than-expected deliveries make only the first part of that case.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Royal Mail has announced plans to cut 2,500 head office and other supporting roles by the end of 2027 as it battles competition and falling demand for letter deliveries.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Standing in front of a crib with her baby in a sling, she gives tips to new mothers who have gotten bills for hospital deliveries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

“They’d have sketch pads, and we were encouraged to be physically animated when delivering our lines. The animators would incorporate some of the physical aspects of our line deliveries into the animation.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

When we started to make deliveries I was afraid of going near the houses, but I was even more afraid of being left alone on the wagon.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

Related Words

• consignment
• distribution
• shipment
• transmission