delay
Americanverb (used with object)
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delays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
delayed,
past participle, past
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delaying
present participle
verb (used without object)
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delays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
delayed,
past participle, past
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delaying
present participle
noun
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delays
plural
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the act of delaying; procrastination.
- Synonyms:
- loitering
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an instance of being delayed.
There were many delays during the train trip.
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the period or amount of time during which something is delayed.
The ballet performance began after a half-hour delay.
verb
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(tr) to put off to a later time; defer
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(tr) to slow up, hinder, or cause to be late; detain
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(intr) to be irresolute or put off doing something; procrastinate
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(intr) to linger; dawdle
noun
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the act or an instance of delaying or being delayed
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the interval between one event and another; lull; interlude
Usage
What does delay mean? As a verb, delay means to put something off or postpone it until later, or to cause something to take longer or to be late. As a noun, delay means an instance of something being postponed till later, or the amount of time between when something was supposed to happen and when it does happen (the lull or interlude). Example: The convention has not been canceled—it has been delayed until we can find a proper venue.
Synonym Usage
See defer 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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delayernoun
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predelaynoun
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delayableadjective
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undelayableadjective
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undelayingadjective
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delayinglyadverb
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undelayinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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delaysimple
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delayssimple
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have delayedperfect
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has delayedperfect
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am delayingprogressive
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are delayingprogressive
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is delayingprogressive
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have been delayingperfect progressive
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has been delayingperfect progressive
Past
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delayedsimple
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had delayedperfect
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was delayingprogressive
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were delayingprogressive
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had been delayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of delay
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English delaien (verb), delai(e) (noun), from Old French delaier (verb), delai (noun)
Explanation
A delay is a wait or a postponement. An unexpected delay before the start of a play might make the audience restless and noisy. During a delay, you have to wait around for things to begin. Delay is also a verb: "That burnt pizza is going to delay dinner for at least another hour." You can also delay by loitering or hanging around: "The performer always delays when he's nervous about singing in front of a crowd." Delay comes from the Old French delaiier, from the roots de-, "not," and laier, "leave."
Vocabulary lists containing delay
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 3
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Greetings, World Traveler! — List 2
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Unit 5
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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:
Others might delay their benefits, which gives them an additional 8% in payments for every year they delay between their FRA of 67 and 70.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Ahead of SpaceX’s June offering, she urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to delay the rocket maker’s IPO, citing its high valuation, corporate governance structure and recent index rule changes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Google has stepped up the pace of its AI releases since a delay to a flagship model in July raised questions about whether it was falling behind rivals OpenAI and Anthropic.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
True to form, your rover will also experience a time delay, just not quite as long.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
I am sorry for the delay in responding to your letter, which had been forwarded from my London hotel and which I only received this morning, upon my return to dear old Swanburne.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
In Spain, delays on the high-speed network have become longer and more common.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Human rights groups and legal experts have also raised concerns about delays in investigations and trials that lead to people languishing for years behind bars.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The contractor has sued the city, blaming the airport for the delays.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
In his letter, the pensions minister said people who had already been impacted by avoidable delays and been taxed as a result could seek compensation through the pension scheme's complaints process and the Pensions Ombudsman.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
“Any more delays and I’m going to be up to my ass in lawsuits.”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
But in recent months, as the train’s opening continues to be delayed, the future of those plans have come into question.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
District Judge J. Michael Seabright, however, delayed the disqualifications from taking effect while he considers an anticipated government request for a stay pending appeal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
“With FY26 earnings impacted by delayed contract awards and underutilized delivery resources, we see these developments as early evidence of a recovery in implementation activity and improving operating leverage into FY27,” Shaw says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Xylem cut its annual outlook as customers delayed investments, overshadowing surging demand from artificial-intelligence data centers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
By then my legs had begun to shake from delayed shock!
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
Becerra would be open to revising or delaying the goals to prioritize affordability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
“Are we actually helping our patients live a little longer? Or are we just delaying something that potentially can still be salvaged with immunotherapy at the time of recurrence,” Tachiki said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
The research team had travelled for five days by sea to reach Nikumaroro and was forced to spend several days on their ship following rough seas and strong winds, delaying their search on the island.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Here’s the trade-off: If you live well into your 80s, delaying benefits will result in higher lifetime monthly payments.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
He repeatedly crashed through the gate, delaying the start for nearly nine minutes.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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