- 1 [transitive, intransitive] to take goods, letters, etc. to the person or people they have been sent to; to take somebody somewhere deliver something Do you have your milk delivered? deliver (something) to somebody/something Leaflets have been delivered to every household. deliver (to somebody/something) We promise to deliver within 48 hours. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbfree of charge, by hand, personally, … prepositionto, by, via, … phraseshave something delivered See full entry give speech
- 2 [transitive] deliver something to give a speech, talk, etc. or other official statement She is due to deliver a lecture on genetic engineering. He delivered his lines confidently. The jury finally delivered its verdict. keep promise
- 3[intransitive, transitive] to do what you promised to do or what you are expected to do; to produce or provide what people expect you to He has promised to finish the job by June and I am sure he will deliver. deliver on something She always delivers on her promises. deliver something If you can't deliver improved sales figures, you're fired. The team delivered a stunning victory last night. Successive administrations have failed to deliver adequate funding for education. the failure of successive governments to deliver economic growth Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbconsistently, effectively, efficiently, … prepositionon See full entry give to somebody’s control
- 4[transitive] deliver somebody/something (up/over) (to somebody) (formal) to give somebody/something to somebody else so that they are under this person’s control They delivered their prisoner over to the invading army. baby
- 5[transitive] deliver a baby to help a woman to give birth to a baby The baby was delivered by Caesarean section. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbsafely, by Caesarean, by Caesarean section, … See full entry See related entries: Birth
- 6[transitive] be delivered of a baby (formal) to give birth to a baby She was delivered of a healthy boy. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbsafely, by Caesarean, by Caesarean section, … See full entry throw
- 7[transitive] deliver something to throw or aim something He delivered the blow (= hit somebody hard) with all his force. rescue
- 8[transitive] deliver somebody (from something) (old use) to rescue somebody from something bad synonym save Deliver us from evil. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French delivrer, based on Latin de- ‘away’ + liberare ‘set free’. Wordfinderbirthbirth, breech birth, caesarean, contraction, deliver, induce, labour, midwife, obstetrics, umbilical cordExtra examples Online training sessions are delivered directly to your desktop. The baby was delivered safely on Tuesday night. The company will deliver free of charge. The letter was delivered to his office. The package had been delivered by hand. They said they’ll do it, but do you really think they will be able to deliver? You can either collect the goods or have them delivered. messages delivered via email products that deliver on customer expectations Do you have your newspapers delivered? If you can’t deliver improved sales figures, you’re fired. She delivered the kids on time at their father’s house. They discussed the failure of successive governments to deliver economic growth. We promise to deliver within 24 hours. to deliver a (high-quality) service/product/range of benefits/left hook/victory to have groceries/flowers/packages deliveredIdioms
verb jump to other results
BrE BrE//dɪˈlɪvə(r)//; NAmE NAmE//dɪˈlɪvər//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they deliver BrE BrE//dɪˈlɪvə(r)//; NAmE NAmE//dɪˈlɪvər//
he / she / it delivers BrE BrE//dɪˈlɪvəz//; NAmE NAmE//dɪˈlɪvərz//
past simple delivered BrE BrE//dɪˈlɪvəd//; NAmE NAmE//dɪˈlɪvərd//
past participle delivered BrE BrE//dɪˈlɪvəd//; NAmE NAmE//dɪˈlɪvərd//
-ing form delivering BrE BrE//dɪˈlɪvərɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//dɪˈlɪvərɪŋ//
Birth(informal) to do what you have promised to do or what people expect or want you to do We expected great things of the England team, but on the day they simply failed to deliver the goods.
definite, because all the legal documents have been signed More Like ThisAlliteration in idioms belt and braces, (beat somebody) black and blue, born and bred, chalk and cheese, chop and change, done and dusted, down and dirty, in dribs and drabs, eat somebody out of house and home, facts and figures, fast and furious, first and foremost, forgive and forget, hale and hearty, hem and haw, kith and kin, mix and match, part and parcel of something, puff and pant, go to rack and ruin, rant and rave, risk life and limb, short and sweet, signed and sealed, spic and span, through thick and thin, this and that, top and tail something, tried and tested/trusted, wax and waneSee worksheet.
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