delivery and speech share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. delivery means “the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)”. speech means “the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience”. speech is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/dɪˈlɪvɚi/
1.n.the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
“his reluctant delivery of bad news”
2.n.the event of giving birth
“she had a difficult delivery”
3.n.your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally
“his manner of speaking was quite abrupt”
| delivery | speech | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /dɪˈlɪvɚi/ | /ˈspitʃ/ |
| Said | di-LIV-ur-ee | speech |
| Syllables | 4 | 1 |
| Letters | 8 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | noun | noun |
| Senses | 7 | 8 |
| How common | Common | Core |
| Synonyms | bringing | address |
Full entry for delivery · Full entry for speech · More comparisons
/ˈspitʃ/
1.n.the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience
“he listened to an address on minor Roman poets”
2.n.(language) communication by word of mouth
“his speech was garbled”
3.n.something spoken
“he could hear them uttering merry speeches”