delivery

noun

de·​liv·​ery di-ˈli-v(ə-)rē 

dē-

plural deliveries

: the act or manner of delivering something

also : something delivered

Synonyms

• release
• discharge

Examples of delivery in a Sentence

The delivery is scheduled for this morning.

The company offers free delivery with orders over $100.

Someone has to be home to accept delivery of the package.

Allow six weeks for delivery.

The baby weighed almost seven pounds at the time of delivery.

The doctor expects it to be a routine delivery.

The doctor has had three deliveries today.

The joke was funny, but his delivery was terrible.

I need to work on my delivery before I give the speech.

Recent Examples on the Web

Smaller packages moving within a few hundred miles will only increase by about 40 cents, but larger boxes or long-distance deliveries could add as much as $7 for standard shipping. —Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2025

The delivery stock rose 2% after Goldman Sachs reinstated coverage at a buy. —Scott Schnipper, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2025

The history of delivery is long, but the important stuff happened in the 2000s. —Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025

Testing and calibration of the HWA EVO is currently underway, with deliveries scheduled to begin soon. —Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing delivery

• breech delivery
• curbside pickup/delivery
• delivery boy
• delivery room
• general delivery
• on delivery
• pre-delivery
• recorded delivery
• rural free delivery
• special delivery
• take delivery of

Rhymes for delivery

• herbivory
• livery
• nondelivery
• redelivery

Kids Definition

delivery

noun

de·​liv·​ery di-ˈliv-(ə-)rē 

plural deliveries

1

: a delivering from something that restricts or burdens

2

a

: the act of handing over

b

: a legal transfer of right or title

c

: something delivered at one time or in one unit

3

: the action of giving birth

4

: a delivering especially of a speech

5

: manner or style of delivering

Medical Definition

delivery

noun

de·​liv·​ery di-ˈliv-(ə-)rē 

plural deliveries

1

: the act of giving birth : the expulsion or extraction of a fetus and its membranes : parturition

2

: the procedure of assisting birth of the fetus and expulsion of the placenta by manual, instrumental, or surgical means

Legal Definition

delivery

noun

de·​liv·​ery

plural deliveries

: an act that shows a transferor's intent to make a transfer of property (as a gift)

especially : the transfer of possession or exclusive control of property to another

— actual delivery

: a delivery (as by hand or shipment) of actual physical property (as jewelry or stock certificates)

— conditional delivery

: a delivery after which ownership will be transferred upon fulfillment of a condition compare gift causa mortis at gift

Note: A conditional delivery is usually made in order to make a transfer revocable.

— constructive delivery

: a delivery of a representation of property (as a written instrument) or means of possession (as a key) that is construed by a court as sufficient to show the transferor's intent or to put the property under the transferee's control

called also symbolic delivery