delay

de·lay  (d-l)

v. de·layed, de·lay·ing, de·lays

v.tr.

1. To postpone until a later time; defer.

2. To cause to be later or slower than expected or desired: Heavy traffic delayed us.

v.intr.

To act or move slowly; put off an action or a decision.

n.

1. The act of delaying; postponement: responded without delay.

2. The condition of being delayed; detainment.

3. The period of time during which one is delayed.

4. The interval of time between two events.

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[Middle English delaien, from Anglo-Norman delaier, from Old French deslaier : des-, de- + laier, to leave, of Germanic origin; see leip- in Indo-European roots.]

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de·layer n.

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delay

Verb

1. to put (something) off to a later time

2. to slow up or cause to be late

3.

a. to hesitate in doing something

b. to deliberately take longer than necessary to do something

Noun

1. the act of delaying

2. a period of inactivity or waiting before something happens or continues [Old French des- off + laier to leave]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	delay - time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the action" postponement, time lag, wait, hold pause, suspension, intermission, interruption, break - a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something extension - a mutually agreed delay in the date set for the completion of a job or payment of a debt; "they applied for an extension of the loan" moratorium - a legally authorized postponement before some obligation must be discharged retardation - the extent to which something is delayed or held back
	2.	delay - the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time holdup disruption, interruption, gap, break - an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was presented without commercial breaks"; "there was a gap in his account" inactivity - being inactive; being less active 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; "his forbearance to reply was alarming" 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, slowdown, retardation - 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
Verb	1.	delay - cause to be slowed down or delayed; "Traffic was delayed by the bad weather"; "she delayed the work that she didn't want to perform" detain, hold up decelerate, slow, slow down, slow up, retard - lose velocity; move more slowly; "The car decelerated" stonewall - engage in delaying tactics or refuse to cooperate; "The President stonewalled when he realized the plot was being uncovered by a journalist" catch - delay or hold up; prevent from proceeding on schedule or as planned; "I was caught in traffic and missed the meeting" stall - deliberately delay an event or action; "she doesn't want to write the report, so she is stalling" buy time - act so as to delay an event or action in order to gain an advantage hurry, rush - urge to an unnatural speed; "Don't rush me, please!"
	2.	delay - act later than planned, scheduled, or required; "Don't delay your application to graduate school or else it won't be considered" pause, hesitate - interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing; "The speaker paused" hold off, wait, hold back - wait before acting; "the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment" dilly-dally, dillydally, drag one's feet, drag one's heels, procrastinate, stall, shillyshally - postpone doing what one should be doing; "He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days" procrastinate - postpone or delay needlessly; "He procrastinated the matter until it was almost too late" postpone, prorogue, put off, defer, set back, shelve, table, put over, remit, hold over - hold back to a later time; "let's postpone the exam"
	3.	delay - stop or halt; "Please stay the bloodshed!" detain, stay retard, delay, check - slow the growth or development of; "The brain damage will retard the child's language development"
	4.	delay - slow the growth or development of; "The brain damage will retard the child's language development" retard, check alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" dampen - check; keep in check (a fire) detain, delay, stay - stop or halt; "Please stay the bloodshed!"

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delay

verb 1. put off, suspend, postpone, stall, shelve, prolong, defer, hold over, temporize, put on the back burner (informal) protract, take a rain check on U.S., Canad. (informal)

verb 2. hold up, detain, hold back, stop, arrest, halt, hinder, obstruct, retard, impede, bog down, set back, slow up << OPPOSITE speed (up)

verb 3. linger, lag, loiter, dawdle, tarry, dilly-dally (informal) drag your feet or heels (informal)

noun 4. hold-up, wait, check, setback, interruption, obstruction, stoppage, impediment, hindrance

noun 5. dawdling, lingering, loitering, procrastination, tarrying, dilly-dallying (informal)

Translations

delay [dɪˈleɪ] vt → demorar, aplazar [+ person]; entretener [+ train]; retrasar [+ payment]; aplazar

vi → tardar

n → demora, retraso;

without delay → en seguida, sin tardar

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delay [dɪˈleɪ] vt [+ journey, operation] → retarder, différer [+ traveller, train]; retarder [+ payment]; différer

vi → s'attarder

n → délai m, retard m;

to be delayed → être en retard;

without delay → sans délai, sans tarder

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delay [dɪˈleɪ] vt (decision, ceremony) → verschieben, aufschieben;

(person, plane, train) → aufhalten

vi → zögern

n → Verzögerung f;

(postponement) → Aufschub m;

to be delayed (person) → sich verspäten;

(departure etc) → verspätet sein;

(flight etc) → Verspätung haben;

without delay → unverzüglich

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delay [dɪˈleɪ] vt [+ journey, operation] → ritardare, rinviare [+ travellers, trains]; ritardare [+ payment]; differire

n → ritardo;

without delay → senza ritardo