delayed-action
adjective
(of an explosive projectile) exploding some time after hitting the target.
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delayed action
delayed action
delayed-action
American
[dih-leyd-ak-shuhn]
/ dɪˈleɪdˈæk ʃən /
Also
delay-action
adjective
delayed action
British
noun
Etymology
Origin of delayed-action
First recorded in 1890–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In a delayed-action scenario, debt in 2050-51 would be 23% of GDP higher than in the early-action scenario, it said.
From Reuters ● Jul. 6, 2021
Mr. Lewis remembers the devastation of delayed-action explosive devices left by the Germans and the “slag heap” from the eruption of Vesuvius, just southeast of Naples, in March 1944.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2017
One person close to the family described her influence as a delayed-action fuse: at times the president will mention a point Ms. Trump made, uncredited, days later.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2017
Now that campuses elsewhere are quiet, and have been for several years, a wave of delayed-action student revolt is washing over the 174-year-old institution, where the best way to survive has been to conform.
From Time Magazine Archive
Once we were seated to Dad’s satisfaction, he would focus, tell us to smile, click the delayed-action release, and race for the driver’s seat.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Prosecutors said Gonzales then delayed action, waiting on the east side of the school for backup and more cover as gunshots sounded and he relayed the shooter’s location on his radio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026
However, some experts argue that the FDA’s delayed action on Red No. 3 highlights larger systemic issues.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2025
In one middle-of-the-road scenario, delayed action around emissions leads the planet to experience a warmer decade in the 2020s before peaking at 2 degrees Celsius of warming around the middle of the century.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2024
This delayed action presents a major problem today as we threaten other global limits.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 2, 2024
Conditions were seldom ideal, for the delayed action release was unreliable.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
