delay

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/dɪˈleɪ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/dɪˈleɪ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(di lā′)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•lay /dɪˈleɪ/USA pronunciation   v. 
  1. to put off to a later time;
    postpone: [ ~ + verb-ing]:The principal delayed opening the school.[ ~ + obj]:The committee delayed action on the matter.
  2. [ ~ + obj] to interfere with the progress of;
    slow down;
    hold back:The fog delayed the plane's landing.
  3. [no obj] to put off action;
    linger;
    loiter:If you delay now, you'll just have to do more later.

n. 
  1. the act of delaying;
    procrastination;
    loitering:[uncountable]Please finish your work without delay.
  2. a postponement:[countable]a delay of forty-eight hours.
  3. an act or instance of being delayed;
    stoppage:[countable]The delay was caused by a three-car accident.
de•lay•er, n. [countable]
de•lay•ing, adj. [before a noun]:delaying tactics designed to wear us out.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•lay  (di lā′),USA pronunciation v.t. 
  1. to put off to a later time;
    defer;
    postpone:The pilot delayed the flight until the weather cleared.
  2. to impede the process or progress of;
    retard;
    hinder:The dense fog delayed the plane's landing.

v.i. 
  1. to put off action;
    linger;
    loiter:He delayed until it was too late.

n. 
  1. the act of delaying;
    procrastination;
    loitering.
  2. an instance of being delayed:There were many delays during the train trip.
  3. the period or amount of time during which something is delayed:The ballet performance began after a half-hour delay.
  • Old French delaier (verb, verbal), delai (noun, nominal)
  • Middle English delaien (verb, verbal), delai(e) (noun, nominal) 1225–75
de•lay′a•ble, adj. 
de•lay′er, n. 
de•lay′ing•ly, adv. 
    1. See defer1. 2. slow, detain. 3. procrastinate, tarry. 4. tarrying, dawdling. 5. deferment, postponement, respite.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
delay /dɪˈleɪ/ vb
  1. (transitive) to put off to a later time; defer
  2. (transitive) to slow up, hinder, or cause to be late; detain
  3. (intransitive) to be irresolute or put off doing something; procrastinate
  4. (intransitive) to linger; dawdle
 n
  1. the act or an instance of delaying or being delayed
  2. the interval between one event and another; lull; interlude
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French delaier, from des- off + laier, variant of laissier to leave, from Latin laxāre to loosen, from laxus slack, lax1deˈlayer n
'delay' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
acoustoelectronic - ado - bada-bing - defer - delayed action - demur - demure - demurrage - detain - developmental disorder - dilatory - direct - directly - drop - eventually - extension - finger - fire - forestall - gain - hold - hold out - hold-up - hung - immediate - immediately - impatient - instant - instanter - instantaneous - laches - last - linger - lose - lot - Molotov cocktail - moratorium - obstruction - patient - pause - play - postpone - previous question - procrastinate - prompt - put back - put off - readily - remora - abode
Collocations: [a significant, an unexpected, a severe] delay, delay [delivery, shipping, shipment], a delay [effect, pedal], more...

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