delay
verb (used with object)
have been delaying
-
present perfect progressiveof delay.present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
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.
Studios, which have major movie productions not only to complete but to get under way, have been delaying release dates for films.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2020
School administrators around the country have been delaying ceremonies, holding them in unconventional locations like drive-in cinemas, or hosting virtual ones online.
From New York Times ● May 15, 2020
“This year, Fairfax and Arlington have been delaying or canceling a lot quicker than Montgomery. In the past, Montgomery was a lot quicker to fold.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 19, 2019
The shortages, mainly involving widely-used generic injected drugs that ordinarily are cheap, have been delaying surgeries and cancer treatments, leaving patients in unnecessary pain and forcing hospitals to give less effective treatments.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 23, 2011
You surely know, that while you have been delaying, expecting others to act, accusing, trying one another, expecting again, doing much the same as ye do now, all the time has passed away.
From The Olynthiacs and the Phillippics of Demosthenes Literally translated with notes by Charles Rann Kennedy
