delay
the act of delaying; procrastination.
an instance of being delayed: There were many delays during the train trip.
the period or amount of time during which something is delayed: The ballet performance began after a half-hour delay.
Origin of delay
1synonym study For delay
Other words for delay
| 2 | slow, detain |
| 3 | procrastinate, tarry |
| 4 | tarrying, dawdling, loitering |
| 5 | deferment, postponement, respite |
Other words from delay
- de·lay·a·ble, adjective
- de·lay·er, noun
- de·lay·ing·ly, adverb
- pre·de·lay, noun, verb
- un·de·lay·a·ble, adjective
- un·de·lay·ing, adjective
- un·de·lay·ing·ly, adverb
Words Nearby delay
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use delay in a sentence
There, reports of an explosion in testing wait times and delays in people getting notified of positive results have sparked rumors of another lockdown.
After a summer of delays and postponements, the fall movie release schedule is finally starting to take shape.
Barrera said the school, though, should have allowed those eight students to continue with the class without delay.
When a Calculus Class Abruptly Became Ceramics at Lincoln High | Scott Lewis | September 16, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoUnusually, Apple did not debut a next generation iPhone due to the aforementioned production delays.
Everything announced at Apple’s ‘Time Flies’ event today | rhhackettfortune | September 15, 2020 | FortuneWe needed to own the reality of the delays customers were experiencing.
Deep Dive: How the Summer of 2020 forced brand marketing to change for the better | jim cooper | September 14, 2020 | Digiday
The child almost died from the delay of an hour in seeking help.
Dr. Melson says abstinence only training shows no delay in sexual activity.
The Next Frontier of Sex Ed: How Porn Twists Teens’ Brains | Aurora Snow | November 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is a case where delay is denial—with potentially deadly results.
My Insurance Company Killed Me, Despite Obamacare | Malcolm MacDougall | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere was, I am told, a two-hour delay caused by concerns about the temperature of the fuel.
Virgin Galactic’s Flight Path to Disaster: A Clash of High Risk and Hyperbole | Clive Irving | November 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut delay hurts, deprivation is unfair, and waiting (and waiting) matters.
I hate to be long at my toilette at any time; but to delay much in such a matter while travelling is folly.
So, small as his force was, only one hundred and eighty, he determined to move out and attack Porter without delay.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnAny delay in covering such deficit shall be subject to such charge as the Federal Reserve Board may impose.
Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur PhillipsI have left a dozen men behind me, who'll hunt me over the country, if I don't rejoin them without delay.
Very likely the next great war will have begun before we realize that the three days' delay in the fall of Antwerp saved Calais.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
British Dictionary definitions for delay
/ (dɪˈleɪ) /
(tr) to put off to a later time; defer
(tr) to slow up, hinder, or cause to be late; detain
(intr) to be irresolute or put off doing something; procrastinate
(intr) to linger; dawdle
the act or an instance of delaying or being delayed
the interval between one event and another; lull; interlude
Origin of delay
1Derived forms of delay
- delayer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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