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Synonyms

special delivery

American

noun

(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.

special delivery British

noun

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

"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

Other Word Forms

special-delivery

adjective

Etymology

Origin of special delivery

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A few weeks ago, I got a text from my grandma: “A special delivery is on its way to you.”

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

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 • Feb. 18, 2025

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

From Seattle Times • Sep. 20, 2023

In Erlick’s debut novel, every adult on the planet receives a special delivery and has to decide what to do with it.

From New York Times • Oct. 16, 2022

Because of living next door to Grandpa, Miss Effie Belle acted like God had sent her a special delivery letter explaining all the goings-on.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023