delivery has been delayed

USAGE SUMMARY

The sentence "delivery has been delayed" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when something has been sent or expected to arrive on a certain date, but has been delayed and will arrive later than expected. For example: "We apologize for any inconvenience, but the delivery of your order has been delayed until next week."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

There is cross-party support for the theory behind the benefit, but its delivery has been delayed and criticised.

BBC

Six French-made submarines are on order, but their delivery has been delayed by several years and is now slated for around 2015.

Los Angeles Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

The delivery had been delayed, he explained, by the seasonal layoff in his business.

The New Yorker

Last week, U.P.S. said some package deliveries had been delayed as it struggled to handle a surge of online orders on Cyber Monday.

The New York Times

Most of the planes in which damage was discovered have been fixed, ground tested and flight tested, and delivered to customers, Mr. Webb said, adding that no deliveries had been delayed.

The New York Times

In the Times Square area, truck deliveries have been delayed, says Liu.

Forbes

Though, in fairness, it should be pointed out that weeks afterward, we received a second response, in one of those "delivery of this letter has been delayed because we mangled it in our letter-processing machinery" bags from the Postal Service.

The New York Times

2. On 1/4/2011 I received an email from Dell stating that Order #567639195 for Precision T3500 has been delayed; Estimated delivery I was given was 1/10/2011, later changed to 1/11/2010.

TechCrunch

In addition, delivery of this year's influenza vaccine to doctors' offices and pharmacies has been delayed because of manufacturing problems.

The New York Times

Every movie has been delayed.

The New York Times

"Duke Nukem Forever has been delayed".

TechCrunch

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Always apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delay.

Common error

Avoid simply stating "delivery has been delayed" without providing any context or new timeline. This can lead to frustration and uncertainty for the recipient.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "delivery has been delayed" functions as a statement indicating that a scheduled delivery is not proceeding as originally planned. It's a passive construction, focusing on the action performed on the delivery, not who or what caused the delay. This is confirmed by Ludwig AI.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Formal & Business

25%

Science

25%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "delivery has been delayed" is a grammatically correct and usable phrase indicating a postponement of an expected delivery. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness. It's most commonly found in news and business contexts, with a neutral register. When using this phrase, it's best practice to provide context, reasons, and a new estimated delivery date to avoid vagueness and manage expectations. Alternatives include "shipment is postponed" or "consignment is held up". While not exceptionally frequent, the phrase is readily understood and serves a clear communicative purpose in various professional and everyday scenarios.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

shipment is postponed

Replaces "delivery" with "shipment" and uses "postponed" to indicate the delay.

consignment is held up

Substitutes "delivery" with "consignment" and uses the idiomatic expression "held up" to convey the delay.

dispatch is pushed back

Replaces "delivery" with "dispatch" and "delayed" with "pushed back", maintaining a similar sense of postponement.

supply has been deferred

Substitutes "delivery" with "supply" and uses "deferred" to indicate that it has been postponed to a later time.

arrival is rescheduled

Focuses on the "arrival" aspect of the delivery and indicates that it has been rescheduled to a later date.

it will not arrive on time

Emphasizes the lack of punctuality without explicitly stating the reason as a delay.

there's a setback in transit

Focuses on "transit" and denotes a negative development without pointing to a specific date.

the item is not coming as scheduled

Rephrases the expression by using a more generic term like "item".

the transport is behind schedule

Rephrases the expression by using a more generic term like "transport".

the supply is not on track

Rephrases the expression by using a more generic term like "supply".

FAQs

What does it mean when "delivery has been delayed"?

When a delivery is delayed, it means that the expected arrival time of a package or shipment is later than initially scheduled. The reasons can vary from logistical issues to unforeseen circumstances.

What can I say instead of "delivery has been delayed"?

You can use alternatives like "shipment is postponed", "consignment is held up", or "dispatch is pushed back" depending on the context.

Is it grammatically correct to say "delivery has been delayed"?

Yes, "delivery has been delayed" is grammatically correct. It uses the present perfect passive voice to indicate that the action of delaying the delivery has occurred.

How can I politely inform a customer that "delivery has been delayed"?

You can say something like, "We regret to inform you that the delivery of your order has been delayed due to [reason]. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The new estimated delivery date is [date]."