What does deliveryman mean?
A deliveryman is a man whose occupation involves transporting and handing over goods, packages, food, or mail directly to customers, whether at their homes or places of business. The word combines 'delivery' — the act of conveying items to an intended recipient — with 'man', marking it explicitly as a male-specific term. It appears most often in everyday contexts involving local commerce: the pizza deliveryman, the grocery deliveryman, or the courier who drops off online orders. Its plural, deliverymen, follows the irregular plural of 'man'. In recent decades, as women entered the profession in large numbers, many speakers and style guides have favored gender-neutral substitutes such as 'delivery person', 'delivery driver', or 'courier', though 'deliveryman' remains widely understood and used, particularly in American English. The word carries no strong connotations of formality or informality and fits comfortably into both casual conversation and news reporting.
nounA man whose job is to deliver goods, packages, mail, or other items to homes or businesses.
- A man employed to carry and deliver goods, parcels, or mail to customers' homes or businesses.
"The deliveryman left the parcel on the doorstep and rang the bell twice."
"The deliveryman arrived early with a stack of boxes for the office."
"She waved at the deliveryman she saw every morning on his route through the neighborhood."
Irregular plural following the plural of 'man'; used when referring to multiple male workers. For mixed or unspecified groups, 'delivery people' or 'delivery drivers' is preferred.
"Several deliverymen waited outside the restaurant for their evening orders."
The word 'deliveryman' is a compound of 'delivery' + 'man', but as more women joined the profession, gender-neutral terms like 'delivery person' and 'delivery driver' have steadily taken its place in modern usage.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deliveryman
'Deliveryman' is formed by compounding 'delivery' + 'man', a pattern common in English occupational nouns. The root 'deliver' traces back through Old French 'delivrer' to Late Latin 'deliberare', from Latin 'de-' (away) plus 'liberare' (to set free), the same root that gives us 'liberate', 'liberty', and 'deliverance'. The compound arose naturally in modern English as home and commercial delivery services expanded.
Related word forms
How deliveryman is actually used
The term is neutral in register but increasingly replaced by gender-neutral alternatives such as 'delivery person', 'delivery driver', or simply 'courier'. The plural is 'deliverymen' (irregular, from the plural of 'man').
Easily confused with deliveryman
A deliverer is anyone who delivers or rescues (people or things), while a deliveryman specifically refers to a man employed to transport and hand over goods.