delays

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of delay.

   A string of delays pushed the product launch into next year.

   Commuters grew frustrated with the constant delays on the morning line.

   Note

   Only the countable side of delay takes a plural. Uncountable use, as in acting without delay, has none, so delays always counts separate holdups. The plural also covers the noun's technical meanings: a studio's audio delays, or the delays a chess clock grants before each move. The same spelling is the verb form (the storm delays flights), and an article or a following verb usually tells them apart.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of delay.

   The new policy delays repayment for borrowers who lose their jobs.

   Heavy traffic regularly delays the evening commute through the tunnel.

   Note

   Here the verb usually takes an object, and the object decides the meaning. With an event, such as a launch or a payment, delays means postpones. With a person or vehicle it means holds up: the fog delays the ferry. Used without an object it means hesitates or lingers. Older texts may carry an obsolete sense, to allay or temper, in which something that delays a thirst quenches it.

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