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

Only shortwave radios worked, and the mayor of Los Angeles, Frank Shaw, spoke to the nation thanks to a relay via a wireless station way up in Point Reyes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

During the first part of the mission, Roman communicates with controllers using the Near Space Network, a system of ground stations and relay satellites that handles tracking, telemetry, and commands.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 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

Then it was time for the relay race.

From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr

In town, a crusty denizen relays to Sung-ae what he saw days ago in the forest, along with its digestive distress.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

Dina Asher-Smith and Olympic silver medalist Matt Hudson-Smith, who were both set to run relays in Glasgow, have also been replaced, as has Asher-Smith's sprint team-mate Daryll Neita.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Power systems, communications relays and resource extraction should take priority over manned missions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

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

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

"We think it paid for a huge renovation project here at that time," says the Very Reverend Philip Hesketh, Dean of Rochester, pointing out the quire paving that was relaid.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 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

The greater part of the nave was paved with Painswick stone, and in the rest of the church the gravestones were relaid.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Abbey Church of Tewkesbury with some Account of the Priory Church of Deerhurst Gloucestershire by H. J. L. J. (Henri Jean Louis Joseph) Massé

The report went on to recount that the Emirati leader relayed the conversation he had with Netanyahu to the then CIA director William J Burns.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 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 study relayed some surprising numbers: Even delays of five to 10 minutes in responding to a potential employer correlated with about a 30% reduction in Fiverr users’ chances of getting the job.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Then Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet relayed a comment from one of the organization’s college students: “A burrito shouldn’t cost $20.”

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

The tracking stations captured the signals with their sixty-four-foot receiving dishes, then relayed this data plus voice communications through a jumble of submarine cables, landlines, and radio waves to the computer center at Goddard.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

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

New national selector Marcus North has immediately taken on more responsibility than Luke Wright, relaying selection decisions to players – a job previously done by McCullum.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

They checked me, probed, checked again and again, Father scanning my symptoms into the Netbook several times a day, someone relaying back treatment.

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

Related Words

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