delay
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
the act of delaying; procrastination.
- Synonyms:
- loitering
-
an instance of being delayed.
There were many delays during the train trip.
-
the period or amount of time during which something is delayed.
The ballet performance began after a half-hour delay.
verb
-
(tr) to put off to a later time; defer
-
(tr) to slow up, hinder, or cause to be late; detain
-
(intr) to be irresolute or put off doing something; procrastinate
-
(intr) to linger; dawdle
noun
-
the act or an instance of delaying or being delayed
-
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
-
delayernoun
-
predelaynoun
-
delayableadjective
-
undelayableadjective
-
undelayingadjective
-
delayinglyadverb
-
undelayinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
delaysimple
-
delayssimple
-
have delayedperfect
-
has delayedperfect
-
am delayingprogressive
-
are delayingprogressive
-
is delayingprogressive
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have been delayingperfect progressive
-
has been delayingperfect progressive
Past
-
delayedsimple
-
had delayedperfect
-
was delayingprogressive
-
were delayingprogressive
-
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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"Building Design and Construction Handbook," Vocabulary from Section 1
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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:
The states have asked Paramount to delay the closing of its Warner Bros. takeover until the litigation can be resolved.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
But analyst Bader Al-Saif said the escalating attacks would merely delay a permanent agreement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
"After the weather delay we saw before the Mexico game, we want to give fans and venues complete certainty that no-one will miss a moment of the action."
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
I’ve always been a little skeptical of the government’s encouragement to delay claiming benefits.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
“Trust me, Duke. They’ll delay new episodes until you’re better if we—or rather, I—can encourage Fred to make a few more embarrassing blunders.”
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
The contractor for Los Angeles International Airport’s long-awaited automatic people mover train filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles amid ongoing disputes with the airport over project delays.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
During a visit to Ituri on Thursday, Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba acknowledged "delays in payment" and gave assurances that the "organisational issue" at the root of the problem would be resolved.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
The DOE has completed some major maintenance through a $1.4 billion project, but the effort has been plagued by delays and cost overruns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
For years, vacancies rendered the agency unable to perform major parts of its work, contributing to long delays in updating voting-system guidance.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
Despite the delays, we were making progress on the device.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
In one example, a power outage in 2025 delayed progress for 141 days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Those companies previously needed licenses approved by the Commerce Department to export chips needed to run AI models, a laborious process that can take months and is frequently delayed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
During one six week study period, participants delayed their usual bedtime by 90 minutes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
Millions of calls from customers were likely to have been mishandled over a three-year period which prevented or delayed them from switching to a better broadband, landline or pay-TV deal.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
She had first applied for admission to NASA’s astronaut training program in 1985, but the Challenger disaster had delayed the process.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Over the next few years, he completed medical school and a seven-year general surgery residency while delaying his enrollment in the Army.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
Officials have been careful to attribute it to the pandemic delaying weddings and births, and a large generation of people born to baby boomers reaching the age when they have children of their own.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
It seems to me that once I factor in even a conservative expected investment return, the break-even age for delaying benefits becomes significantly later.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
BE Semiconductor stock tumbled after a report said that some of the Dutch group’s main customers are delaying uptake of its advanced hybrid bonding technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
By delaying publication of the dispatches, he bought time.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
