delay
dih-LAY
/dɪˈleɪ/
A period of time by which something is late or postponed.
Refers to unplanned schedule interruptions causing transit to arrive or depart later than promised.
The story behind the word. From Old French 'delaier', tracing back to Latin roots implying loosening or putting off. It originally meant to put something off to a later time.
Word relationships
- hold-up: 'Hold-up' is informal; 'delay' is standard professional and public transit terminology.
- punctuality: 'Punctuality' means arriving or happening exactly on time.
Commonly confused with
- cancellation: A delay means arriving late; a cancellation means the service does not run at all.
Word family
- delayed (adjective): Happening later than planned.
Collocations
- unexpected delay
- cause a delay
- train delay
- severe delays
Example sentences
- "We apologize for the delay caused by unexpected signal maintenance down the line." Public address announcement
- "Heavy rain and high winds resulted in severe flight and train delays across the state." Travel disruption
Memory hook
When you DELAY, you LAY down and do not move forward. Late arrival that slows you down.
When not to use
Do not use when transport runs perfectly on schedule.
Fun facts
- In Japanese high-speed rail systems, average annual delays are measured in seconds rather than minutes.
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