relay
Pluralrelays
Pluralrelays
Formsrelays, relaying, relayed
- 1A track race in which runners on a team take turns carrying a short stick called a baton.
Our school won the relay at the track meet.
She runs the last part of the relay because she is the fastest.
Note
- 2ri-LAY/ɹiˈleɪ/To pass a message or information on to another person or place.
Please relay my thanks to your parents.
The captain relayed the news to everyone on the bus.
Similartransmit, convey, pass, communicate, forward
- 3A race between teams in which each team member takes a turn.
At the picnic, the kids ran an egg-and-spoon relay.
Our swim team came second in the relay.
Note
- 4An electric part that lets a small amount of power turn a bigger flow of power on or off.
When you turn the key, a relay sends power to the car's starter.
The relay clicked, and the big fan started to spin.
Note
- 5
- 6A line of vehicles that travel one after another.
A relay of buses took fans from the parking lots to the stadium.
A relay of trucks carried sand to the beach all day.
Similarstream, convoy, procession
- 7Sayree-LAYUS/ˌɹiˈleɪ/UK/ˌɹiːˈleɪ/Alternative spelling of re-lay. It means to lay something, like a floor or a track, again.
Workers will relay the old bricks on the garden path.
If the tiles crack again, we will relay them ourselves.
Note
- 8Fresh horses kept waiting along a road to take the place of tired ones.
The coach stopped at the inn, where a relay of horses was waiting.
The mail rider changed to a fresh relay at each station.
Note
- 9A new group of hunting dogs.
The hunters let loose a relay of fresh dogs when the first ones got tired.
A second relay of hounds waited near the woods.
Note
- 10ri-LAY/ɹiˈleɪ/To set up people or horses in groups so that each one can take over from the one before.
They relay the horses along the road, so a fresh one is always ready.
The farmer relayed his workers so that one group rested while the other worked.
Note
- 11ri-LAY/ɹiˈleɪ/To change to fresh horses, taking on a new set.
The coach stopped to relay at the next town.
We relayed at the inn and were back on the road in minutes.
Note
- 12ri-LAY/ɹiˈleɪ/In hunting, to let a new group of dogs go after the animal.
The hunters had to relay when the first dogs grew tired.
They relayed near the river, and the fresh dogs ran on.
Note
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of relay apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
From an old French word for a fresh pack of hunting dogs, from a verb meaning "to leave behind".
From re- + lay.