delay

Saydi-LAY/dəˈleɪ/UK/dɪˈleɪ/

Pluraldelays

Verbdelays, delaying, delayed

10 meanings of delay

Practice

1
nouncountable or uncountable
A wait before something happens, or the act of putting something off.
Like waiting in line before it is your turn.
Heavy snow caused a long delay on the roads.
After some delay, the meeting finally began.
Similarpostponement, holdup, wait, hesitation, deferral
Note
2
verbtransitive
To put something off until a later time.
Like saving a task for later instead of doing it now.
They had to delay the wedding because of the storm.
Please don't delay your decision any longer.
Similarpostpone, defer
Oppositeadvance, expedite, hasten
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3
verbtransitive
To slow something down or stop it for a short time.
Like a slow car in front that makes everyone behind it move slower.
Roadwork can delay traffic for hours.
Bad weather delayed the rescue team.
Similarslow, hinder, impede, hamper, obstruct
Oppositeexpedite, speed, accelerate, hasten
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4
verbintransitive
To wait or move slowly instead of acting right away.
Like standing still at the edge of a pool, afraid to jump in.
Don't delay, or you'll miss the bus!
She delayed at the door, unsure whether to knock.
Similarhesitate, wait, linger, procrastinate, dither
Oppositehurry, hasten, act
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5
nouncountable or uncountable
A music device that repeats a sound a moment after you play it.
Like an echo in a big empty room that repeats your voice.
The guitarist added some delay to make the notes echo.
She turned up the delay on her pedal board.
Note
6
nouncountable
In chess, extra seconds at the start of each move before your clock starts to count down.
Like a few free seconds before a stopwatch starts counting.
With a five-second delay, you have time to move before the clock drops.
The tournament used a short delay on every move.
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7
nouncountable
In computer programming, an object that stands for a result that is not ready yet.
Like a ticket you get now and trade for your coat later.
The function returns a delay that will hold the answer once it is ready.
You can read the value from the delay after the task finishes.
Similarpromise
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Less common meanings

8
verbobsoletetransitive
To calm or ease a strong feeling.
The watery showers delay the raging wind.
a. 1547, Henry Howard, Earl of SurreyHere, delay means to calm or ease, making something less strong.
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9
verbobsolete
To make a liquid weaker by mixing in water.
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10
verbobsolete
To satisfy or put an end to a need such as thirst.
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Practice

Can you tell the meanings of delay apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–8

From Middle English delaien, taken from Old French. It combined a prefix meaning "un-" with a verb meaning "to leave."

Meanings 9–10

From Middle English delaien, from an Old French word that was a variant form of delaissier.