DELAY • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Delay

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/dɪlˈeɪ/ Listen

noun

Delay n. (pl. delays) A putting off or deferring; procrastination; lingering inactivity; stop; detention; hindrance. "Without any delay, on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat." "The government ought to be settled without the delay of a day."

verb

Delay v. t. (past & past part. delayed; pres. part. delaying)

To put off; to defer; to procrastinate; to prolong the time of or before. "My lord delayeth his coming."

To retard; to stop, detain, or hinder, for a time; to retard the motion, or time of arrival, of; as, the mail is delayed by a heavy fall of snow. "Thyrsis! whose artful strains have oft delayed The huddling brook to hear his madrigal."

To allay; to temper. (Obs.) "The watery showers delay the raging wind."

Delay v. i. To move slowly; to stop for a time; to linger; to tarry. "There seem to be certain bounds to the quickness and slowness of the succession of those ideas,... beyond which they can neither delay nor hasten."

See images of 'Delay'

Etymology of 'Delay'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Delay" Quotes from Famous Books

... with every token of friendliness: and seeing that they did not come, we went to them, and they did not stay for us, but made to the land, and, by signs, told us to wait, and that they should soon return: and they went to a bill in the background, and did not delay long: when they returned, they led with them 16 of their girls, and entered with these into their canoes, and came to the boats: and in each boat they ...

— Great Epochs in American History, Volume I. - Voyages Of Discovery And Early Explorations: 1000 A.D.-1682 • Various

... dignitary in a smart electric victoria. This was one of the frequent Festival Embassies to Melita, to combine religious rites with mourning games and the dedication of the tablet, and there was considerable delay incident to the delivery of a wireless message to the dignitary with the tablet of the Semitic inscription. St. George wondered vaguely why, in a world of marvels, progress should not already have outstripped the ...

— Romance Island • Zona Gale

... constitution, he might rally as it is, and by your scientific treatment, Mr. Surgeon of the Fleet"—bowing—"be entirely made whole, without risking an amputation. Still, it is a very critical case, and amputation may be indispensable; and if it is to be performed, there ought to be no delay whatever. That is my view of the case, Mr. Surgeon of ...

— White Jacket - or, the World on a Man-of-War • Herman Melville

... command shall be responsible for revealing within forty-eight hours all mines or delay acting fuses disposed on territory evacuated by the German troops and shall assist in their discovery and destruction. The German command shall also reveal all destructive measures that may have been taken (such as poisoning or polluting of springs, wells, etc.) ...

— History of the World War - An Authentic Narrative of the World's Greatest War • Francis A. March and Richard J. Beamish

... himself decided upon. A contribution of one thousand dollars from the Haytian government and an appropriation of three thousand dollars from the State of New York assured the success of the plan. September 15, 1898, was the date set for the unveiling of the monument; but, owing to delay in the delivery of the statue, only a part of the contemplated exercises took place. The monument, complete with the exception of the statue which was to surmount it, was formally turned over to the city, the presentation speech ...

— Frederick Douglass - A Biography • Charles Waddell Chesnutt

More quotes...