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delaying action

American

noun

Military.

a maneuver in which a defensive force delays the advance of a superior enemy force by withdrawing while inflicting the maximum destruction possible without engaging in decisive combat.

delaying action British

noun

a measure or measures taken to gain time, as when weaker military forces harass the advance of a superior enemy without coming to a pitched battle

"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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delaying action

However, Baroness Owen criticised ministers for "delaying action", saying this was "a betrayal of those who need our protection the most".

From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2024

Authors of the report say that timeline “falls far short of protecting groundwater by delaying action until 2040.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2023

He argues that, while accurate data is needed, the search for ever-more-accurate numbers has become a form of delaying action itself.

From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2022

Even paying law firms to defend Citgo has split the opposition, delaying action, people close to the matter said.

From Reuters ● Oct. 22, 2021

We learned it was senseless to fight a war that you are unable to win, unless the delaying action could permit an Allied victory elsewhere.

From Blood Brothers A Medic's Sketch Book by Rohlfing, Sam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023