delay

noun

A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.

(music) An audio effects unit that introduces a controlled delay.

(chess) An amount of time provided on each move before one's clock starts to tick; a less common time control than increment.

(programming, Clojure) Synonym of promise (“object representing delayed result”).

A surname.

verb

(transitive) To put off until a later time; to defer.

(transitive) To retard; to temporarily stop, detain, or hinder.

(intransitive) To wait, hesitate, tarry.

(transitive, obsolete) To allay; to temper.

(obsolete) To dilute, temper.

(obsolete) To assuage, quench, allay.

Roots

dede- · Latin · away, aside laxarelay- · Latin · to slacken, leave

Synonyms for delay

postponementn waitv holdupn postponev retardmentn retardv deferv defermentn procrastinatev lagv tarryingv deferraln detainv slowdownn temporizev dawdlingn retardationn adjournv protractv

Synonyms & related words for delay

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of delay — including postponement, wait, holdup, postpone, retardment, retard. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to delay

Explore words related to delay — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include tarriance, cunctation, postponable, postponer, lateness, temporization, dilatoriness, tardiness. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for delay

Common synonyms for delay include postponement, wait, holdup, postpone, retardment, retard, defer, deferment — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does delay come from?

The word delay breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: de-, from Latin de (“away, aside”); and lay, from Latin laxare (“to slacken, leave”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.