special delivery

American  

noun

1. (in the U.S. Postal Service) delivery of mail outside the regularly scheduled hours, by a special messenger, upon the payment of an extra fee.

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special delivery British  

noun

1. the delivery of a piece of mail outside the time of a scheduled delivery

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Other Word Forms

• special-delivery adjective

Etymology

Origin of special delivery

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

Anxious waits for arrivals are nothing new at Christmas as people track special deliveries.

From BBC

The BAS said "the Royal Household worked with Royal Mail to arrange this particularly special delivery".

From BBC

If they were stopped by police, they were to tell officers they were a special delivery crew transferring radioactive material from the Dounreay nuclear power plant, near Thurso, for disposal at another site.

From BBC

Planet Earth is about to receive a special delivery — the biggest sample yet from an asteroid.

From Seattle Times

But the River Thames is perhaps the choice for the most special deliveries - including an optical atomic clock.

From BBC