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scapular
sentence

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

delivery

English answer:

they both mean the same

    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2016-02-19 08:54:11 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Feb 15, 2016 13:11
8 yrs ago
12 viewers *
English term

delivery

English Bus/Financial Transport / Transportation / Shipping
Delivery is within UK only.
International shipping is not available at this point.

I think above two mean the same thing.
Which is more common?

Thanks!
Responses
4 +8 they both mean the same
4 -2 Delivery is "to your door"
Change log

Feb 15, 2016 13:59: Steffen Walter changed "Field" from "Other" to "Bus/Financial" , "Field (specific)" from "Other" to "Transport / Transportation / Shipping"

Discussion

B D Finch Feb 16, 2016:
Another little difference It seems that everyone has concentrated upon the difference between "delivery" and "shipping". However, "International shipping is not available at this point" leaves a suggestion that it might become available at some future time, while "Delivery is within UK only" does not. I also don't find "shipping" any less British than "delivery", but think that "shipping" is more about the detail of the process (so more appropriate for long-distances or complex logistics), while "delivery" is more about the result.
Mitsuko Yoshida (asker) Feb 16, 2016:
Thank you very much everyone! I understand well.
By the way, I made a mistake. I would like to change I think above two to I think the above two ... .
philgoddard Feb 15, 2016:
Yes, 20 years ago in the UK it had a rather jarring American sound, perhaps because it had nothing to do with ships. I remember it suddenly started appearing a lot in computer magazines.
Sheila Wilson Feb 15, 2016:
Is shipping more US? I didn't know that It's certainly used quite a lot in British English. If I see any difference at all (as said, it's not really to do with ships nowadays), it's that delivery would be by the own country's postmen (postpersons? postpeople?) or local courier companies, whereas shipping implies something more special, long-distance, costly.
philgoddard Feb 15, 2016:
It depends which market you're writing for. Shipping is more US, but increasingly common in the UK. It means the same as delivery, nothing to do with ships. I suspect they've used it to avoid repetition of delivery.

Responses

+8
48 mins
Selected

they both mean the same

See the discussion box.
Peer comment(s):
agree Steffen Walter
1 min
agree Armorel Young : They do, although that is not to say that one is superfluous - they simply complement each other, or rather the second spells out the implications of the first.
52 mins
agree acetran
1 hr
agree Tina Vonhof (X)
1 hr
agree Charlesp
2 hrs
agree Mikhail Korolev
13 hrs
agree Jessica Burlacu
13 hrs
agree Yasutomo Kanazawa
21 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you very much!! Your answer is very helpful."
-2
12 mins

Delivery is "to your door"

The meaning of "Delivery" is "to your door". An item can be delivered by a postman or a courier. When the term "shipping" is used it often implies a "cheaper" service, which does not necessary include delivery to your door, it might be a parcel service where you need to go and pickup from a depot. This varies from country to country, in Australia a lot of Post services now routinely have 24-hour pickup locations where you only get a card with a code in your letterbox and use that to open a locker to get your parcel...
Reference:

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/parcel-lockers.html

Peer comment(s):
neutral philgoddard : I don't agree with this. They are synonyms.
5 mins
neutral Armorel Young : Phil is right - they are actually saying "We only deliver in the UK, not internationally".
33 mins
disagree Steffen Walter : With Phil and Armorel: the two terms are used synonymously/interchangeably in this case. / That's an artificial distinction in my opinion.
37 mins
In this case they are. However, my answer was more about what the difference might be, if any. People can use them as synonyms but one is more suited to specific type of service than other. I'd use "shipping" for business and "delivery" for domestic post.
disagree B D Finch : "Delivery" does not mean "to your door".
1 day 3 hrs
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