Library / English Dictionary

DELAY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time

Synonyms:

delay; holdup

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("delay" is a kind of...):

inactivity (being inactive; being less active)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "delay"):

break; disruption; gap; interruption (an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity)

demurrage (detention of a ship or freight car or other cargo beyond its scheduled time of departure)

forbearance (a delay in enforcing rights or claims or privileges; refraining from acting)

deferment; deferral; postponement (act of putting off to a future time)

cunctation; procrastination; shillyshally (the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time)

lag; retardation; slowdown (the act of slowing down or falling behind)

dalliance; dawdling; trifling (the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working)

filibuster ((law) a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches)

lingering; tarriance (the act of tarrying)

Derivation:

delay (slow the growth or development of)

delay (cause to be slowed down or delayed)

delay (stop or halt)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Time during which some action is awaited

Example:

he ordered a hold in the action

Synonyms:

delay; hold; postponement; time lag; wait

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("delay" is a kind of...):

break; intermission; interruption; pause; suspension (a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "delay"):

retardation (the extent to which something is delayed or held back)

moratorium (a legally authorized postponement before some obligation must be discharged)

extension (a mutually agreed delay in the date set for the completion of a job or payment of a debt)

Derivation:

delay (slow the growth or development of)

delay (act later than planned, scheduled, or required)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Slow the growth or development of

Example:

The brain damage will retard the child's language development

Synonyms:

check; delay; retard

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "delay" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "delay"):

dampen (check; keep in check (a fire))

delay; detain; stay (stop or halt)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

delay (the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time)

delay (time during which some action is awaited)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cause to be slowed down or delayed

Example:

she delayed the work that she didn't want to perform

Synonyms:

delay; detain; hold up

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "delay" is one way to...):

decelerate; retard; slow; slow down; slow up (lose velocity; move more slowly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "delay"):

stonewall (engage in delaying tactics or refuse to cooperate)

catch (delay or hold up; prevent from proceeding on schedule or as planned)

stall (deliberately delay an event or action)

buy time (act so as to delay an event or action in order to gain an advantage)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Antonym:

rush (urge to an unnatural speed)

Derivation:

delay (the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Stop or halt

Example:

Please stay the bloodshed!

Synonyms:

delay; detain; stay

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "delay" is one way to...):

check; delay; retard (slow the growth or development of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

delay (the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Act later than planned, scheduled, or required

Example:

Don't delay your application to graduate school or else it won't be considered

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "delay" is one way to...):

hold back; hold off; wait (wait before acting)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "delay"):

hesitate; pause (interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing)

dilly-dally; dillydally; drag one's feet; drag one's heels; procrastinate; shillyshally; stall (postpone doing what one should be doing)

procrastinate (postpone or delay needlessly)

defer; hold over; postpone; prorogue; put off; put over; remit; set back; shelve; table (hold back to a later time)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They delay a long time

Derivation:

delay (time during which some action is awaited)

Credits

 Context examples: 

From the first moment of this voyage, I wish Mr. Micawber to stand upon that vessel's prow and say, Enough of delay: enough of disappointment: enough of limited means.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The delay in sea ice freeze-up could be changing the way that heat is transported in the Arctic, which would, in turn, affect precipitation patterns.

(Snow cover on Arctic Sea ice has thinned 30 to 50 percent, NASA)

However, whether vitamin D supplementation may help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes was not known.

(Vitamin D does not prevent type 2 diabetes in people at high risk, National Institutes of Health)

We must become one flesh without any delay, Jane: there is but the licence to get—then we marry.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

A little delay on his side might be very excusable.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

It has a slow and progressive clinical course and is characterized by developmental delay, macrocephaly, seizures, dementia and spasticity.

(Alexander Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

The time delay between the adverse event and the action taken.

(Adverse Event Action Taken Relationship Delay Duration, NCI Thesaurus)

Children of obese parents may be at risk for developmental delays, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

(Parental obesity linked to delays in child development, National Institutes of Health)

Try not to have to change planes to get to your final destination because that is when luggage has a higher than usual chance of getting lost or delayed.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Not smoking can prevent or delay lung symptoms.

(Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)