to make something happen at a later time than originally planned or expected:
My plane was delayed by an hour.
Heavy snow delayed the start of the game.
[ + -ing verb ] I think we should delay deciding about this until next year.
to cause someone or something to be slow or late:
I was delayed by traffic.
to not act quickly or immediately:
If you delay now, the opportunity might be lost.
the situation in which you have to wait longer than expected for something to happen, or the time that you have to wait:
This situation needs to be tackled without delay.
Long delays are predicted on the motorway because of the accident.
There has been a delay in the book's publication.
to cause to be late or to cause to happen at a later time, or to wait before acting:
[ T ] He wants to delay the meeting until Wednesday.
[ T ] The space launch was delayed because of bad weather.
[ I ] Don’t delay in ordering tickets to the show.
a period when something that might happen does not happen or does not happen quickly enough, or the failure to act quickly:
[ U ] You need to call back without delay.
[ C ] The holiday traffic is likely to cause long delays.
[ C ] Any further delay would threaten the entire project.