SKIP TO CONTENT

delivery

/dəˈlɪvəri/

/dɪˈlɪvəri/

Other forms: deliveries

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.

Definitions of delivery
  1. noun
    the voluntary transfer of something (title or possession) from one party to another
    synonyms: legal transfer, livery
    see moresee less
    types:
    surrender
    the delivery of a principal into lawful custody
    bailment
    the delivery of personal property in trust by the bailor to the bailee
    extradition
    the surrender of an accused or convicted person by one state or country to another (usually under the provisions of a statute or treaty)
    type of:
    conveyance, conveyance of title, conveyancing, conveying
    act of transferring property title from one person to another
  2. noun
    the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
    “his reluctant delivery of bad news”
    synonyms: bringing
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 6 types...
    hide 6 types...
    airdrop
    delivery of supplies or equipment or personnel by dropping them by parachute from an aircraft
    consignment
    the delivery of goods for sale or disposal
    handing over, passage
    the act of passing something to another person
    post
    the delivery and collection of letters and packages
    service, service of process, serving
    the act of delivering a writ or summons upon someone
    relay
    the act of passing something along from one person or group to another
    type of:
    conveyance, transfer, transferral, transport, transportation
    the act of moving something from one location to another
  3. noun
    recovery or preservation from loss or danger
    synonyms: deliverance, rescue, saving
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 10 types...
    hide 10 types...
    lifesaving
    saving the lives of drowning persons
    redemption, salvation
    (theology) the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil
    reclamation, reformation
    rescuing from error and returning to a rightful course
    salvage
    the act of rescuing a ship or its crew or its cargo from a shipwreck or a fire
    salvage
    the act of saving goods or property that were in danger of damage or destruction
    salvation
    saving someone or something from harm or from an unpleasant situation
    search and rescue mission
    a rescue mission to search for survivors and to rescue them
    absolution, remission, remission of sin, remittal
    the act of absolving or remitting; formal redemption as pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of penance
    conversion, rebirth, spiritual rebirth
    a spiritual enlightenment causing a person to lead a new life
    atonement, expiation, propitiation
    the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing (especially appeasing a deity)
    type of:
    recovery, retrieval
    the act of regaining or saving something lost (or in danger of becoming lost)
  4. noun
    the event of giving birth
    “she had a difficult delivery
    see moresee less
    type of:
    birth, nascence, nascency, nativity
    the event of being born
  5. noun
    the act of delivering a child
    synonyms: obstetrical delivery
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 5 types...
    hide 5 types...
    breech birth, breech delivery, breech presentation
    delivery of an infant whose feet or buttocks appear first
    C-section, abdominal delivery, caesarean, caesarean delivery, caesarean section, caesarian, caesarian delivery, caesarian section, cesarean, cesarean delivery, cesarean section, cesarian, cesarian section
    the delivery of a fetus by surgical incision through the abdominal wall and uterus (from the belief that Julius Caesar was born that way)
    forceps delivery
    delivery in which forceps are inserted through the vagina and used to grasp the head of the fetus and pull it through the birth canal; since the forceps can injure the fetus this procedure has generally given way to cesarean deliveries
    midwifery
    assisting women at childbirth
    frank breech, frank breech delivery
    position of a fetus in which the buttocks are present at the maternal pelvic outlet
    type of:
    act, deed, human action, human activity
    something that people do or cause to happen
  6. noun
    (baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter
    synonyms: pitch
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 17 types...
    hide 17 types...
    balk
    an illegal pitching motion while runners are on base
    ball
    a pitch that is not in the strike zone
    beanball, beaner
    a baseball deliberately thrown at the batter's head
    change-of-pace, change-of-pace ball, change-up, off-speed pitch
    a baseball thrown with little velocity when the batter is expecting a fastball
    bender, breaking ball, curve, curve ball
    a pitch of a baseball that is thrown with spin so that its path curves as it approaches the batter
    duster
    a pitch thrown deliberately close to the batter
    bullet, fastball, heater, hummer, smoke
    (baseball) a pitch thrown with maximum velocity
    knuckleball, knuckler
    a baseball pitch thrown with little speed or spin
    overhand pitch
    a baseball pitch in which the hand moves above the shoulder
    passed ball
    a pitch that the catcher should have caught but did not; allows a base runner to advance a base
    screwball
    a pitch with reverse spin that curves toward the side of the plate from which it was thrown
    sinker
    a pitch that curves downward rapidly as it approaches the plate
    spitball, spitter
    an illegal pitch in which a foreign substance (spit or Vaseline) is applied to the ball by the pitcher before he throws it
    strike
    (baseball) a pitch that the batter swings at and misses, or that the batter hits into foul territory, or that the batter does not swing at but the umpire judges to be in the area over home plate and between the batter's knees and shoulders
    submarine ball, submarine pitch
    a pitch thrown sidearm instead of overhead
    wild pitch
    an errant pitch that the catcher cannot be expected to catch and that allows a base runner to advance a base
    slider
    a fastball that curves slightly away from the side from which it was thrown
    type of:
    throw
    the act of throwing (propelling something with a rapid movement of the arm and wrist)
  7. noun
    your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally
    synonyms: manner of speaking, speech
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 17 types...
    hide 17 types...
    address
    the manner of speaking to another individual
    catch
    a break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong emotion)
    tongue
    a manner of speaking
    shibboleth
    a manner of speaking that is distinctive of a particular group of people
    tone, tone of voice
    the quality of a person's voice
    elocution
    an expert manner of speaking involving control of voice and gesture
    inflection, prosody
    the patterns of stress and intonation in a language
    inflection, modulation
    a manner of speaking in which the loudness or pitch or tone of the voice is modified
    sharp tongue
    a bitter or critical manner of speaking
    note
    a tone of voice that shows what the speaker is feeling
    rotundity, roundness
    the fullness of a tone of voice
    undertone
    a quiet or hushed tone of voice
    cadence, intonation, modulation, pitch contour
    rise and fall of the voice pitch
    caesura
    a break or pause (usually for sense) in the middle of a verse line
    enjambement, enjambment
    the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause
    accent, emphasis, stress
    the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
    rhythm, speech rhythm
    the arrangement of spoken words alternating stressed and unstressed elements
    type of:
    expressive style, style
    a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period
Pronunciation
US

/dəˈlɪvəri/

UK

/dɪˈlɪvəri/

Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘delivery'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE

Look up delivery for the last time

Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.

VocabTrainer - Vocabulary.com's Vocabulary Trainer