Showing results for "relay"

• a variation of re-lay.

relay

¹ American  

[ree-ley, ree-ley, ri-ley] / ˈri leɪ, ˈri leɪ, rɪˈleɪ /

noun

• relays
  plural

1. a series of persons relieving one another or taking turns; shift.

2. a fresh set of dogs or horses posted in readiness for use in a hunt, on a journey, etc.

3. Sports.

   1. relay race.

   2. a length or leg in a relay race.

4. Machinery. an automatic control device in which the settings of valves, switches, etc., are regulated by a powered element, as a motor, solenoid, or pneumatic mechanism actuated by a smaller, sensitive element.

5. Electricity. a device, usually consisting of an electromagnet and an armature, by which a change of current or voltage in one circuit is used to make or break a connection in another circuit or to affect the operation of other devices in the same or another circuit.

6. (initial capital letter) one of an early series of experimental low-altitude, active communications satellites.

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verb (used with object)

relayed, relaying

1. to carry forward by or as if by relays.

   to relay a message.

2. to provide with or replace by fresh relays.

3. Electricity. to retransmit (a signal, message, etc.) by or as if by means of a telegraphic relay.

verb (used without object)

relayed, relaying

1. Electricity. to retransmit a signal or message electronically.

relay ² American  

[ree-ley] / riˈleɪ /

verb (used with object)

relaid, relaying

1. re-lay.

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relay British  

noun

1. a person or team of people relieving others, as on a shift

2. a fresh team of horses, dogs, etc, posted at intervals along a route to relieve others

3. the act of relaying or process of being relayed

4. 1. short for relay race

   2. one of the sections of a relay race

5. an automatic device that controls the setting of a valve, switch, etc, by means of an electric motor, solenoid, or pneumatic mechanism

6. electronics an electrical device in which a small change in current or voltage controls the switching on or off of circuits or other devices

7. radio

   1. a combination of a receiver and transmitter designed to receive radio signals and retransmit them, in order to extend their range

   2. ( as modifier )

      a relay station

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verb

1. to carry or spread (something, such as news or information) by relays

2. to supply or replace with relays

3. to retransmit (a signal) by means of a relay

4. to broadcast (a performance) by sending out signals through a transmitting station

   this concert is being relayed from the Albert Hall

relay Scientific  

/ rē′lā /

1. An electrical switch that is operated by an electromagnet, such as a solenoid. When a small current passes through the electromagnet's coiled wire, it produces a magnetic field that attracts a movable iron bar, causing it to pivot and open or close the switch.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• relays
  plural

Etymology

Origin of relay

First recorded in 1375–1425; (for the verb) late Middle English relaien “to unleash fresh hounds in a hunt,” from Middle French relaier, Old French: “to leave behind, release,” from re- re- + laier “to leave” (dialectal variant of laissier, from Latin laxāre; see relax); (for the noun) late Middle English relai “set of fresh hounds,” from Middle French, derivative of relaier

Explanation

If you relay something, you pass it to another person. When you relay the information that your pet monkey is known to attack people to your neighbors, you should bring a basket of muffins. Relay comes from the French relayer, which means "to change hounds on a hunt." It still has that sense of something passed in motion. You might run a relay race — each team member carries a baton part-way, then passes it on. We relay news, as when you take a message from Sally and relay it to Harry. A fresh work crew is a relay, and so is an electrical switch that can turn a second circuit on.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

relay relays relaid relayed relaying

They were cleared not just from neighborhoods around venues, but from the route of the Olympic torch relay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

This time, the researchers focused on signals coming from the thalamus, a structure deep inside the brain that helps relay information throughout the nervous system.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

One possible long-term remedy might be river level gauges that relay changes to authorities in real-time, giving residents 20-30 minutes of warning, he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Language, on the other hand, dates back only about a hundred millennia, a shorthand humans created to process and relay concepts great and small.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

By nightfall they were depending almost entirely on radio navigation, counting on people far away to relay their location to them in radio messages.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

The team then engineered three strains of Pantoea agglomerans to function as relays.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

It was the 34-year-old's third medal of the 2026 Games, having won silver in the mixed 4x100 ⁠medley and bronze in the men's 4x100 freestyle relays.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Laser reception requires fewer relays and can be located at the data center, rather than relayed from a special antenna.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

After record-setting performances in the 4x100 relays last weekend at the Arcadia Invitational, the Servite and Rosary relay teams will try to do it again on Saturday at the Mt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026

Grandpa relays the story of how they met at the campground.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Several pitches for World Cup matches are being played in stadiums that usually have artificial surfaces but which have been relaid with grass.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

The unpaid work team at the Nene Valley Railway Museum relaid a track bed at the site.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2025

The field has been belatedly relaid because there were concerts staged at the stadium last weekend.

From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2022

My cousins and I hope there will be a time when the debris is cleared away, roads relaid and bridges rebuilt so that we might visit the hills where our grandmother raised our fathers.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2017

As the roots cannot be forced or wired out, the sewer must be relaid.

From Elements of Plumbing by Samuel Edward Dibble

Police also share information with the local City Watch scheme and details about known suspects can be relayed on a radio system to shops.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

The former Palestinian official relayed the message to an Emirati advisor, who passed it on to the Emirati leader who then called Netanyahu, according to the newspaper.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

The account was relayed by the organization Whistleblower Aid, which said it represents the anonymous whistleblower.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

Asked if he has relayed that message to Apple, Lutnick said “plainly.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

I could hear what they were saying because Houston relayed their calls to me.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins

Martin, Tennessee, is a small, out-of-the-way town that is ultimately best explained to strangers by relaying its travel time from Memphis.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

People in towns and villages around Madrid have been relaying their experiences of escaping the fires, some with just the clothes they were wearing.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

"There's a commander within them -- BC6 -- that leads them in relaying signals to the downstream target."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

U.S. citizen Thomas Pauken II pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered Chinese agent, having received at least $100,000 for recruiting informants, providing communication devices, and relaying intelligence to handlers in China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

ANGELA: I’m relaying it real time to my cloud account anyway!

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

Related Words

• broadcast
• carry
• communicate
• deliver
• hand over
• send
• turn over