1. To postpone until a later time; defer. 2. To cause to be later or slower than expected or desired: Heavy traffic delayed us.

DELAYED definition: put off; postponed. See examples of delayed used in a sentence.

The meaning of DELAY is the act of postponing, hindering, or causing something to occur more slowly than normal : the state of being delayed.

DELAYED definition: 1. happening at a later time than expected, or happening some time after the event that caused it…. Learn more.

to impede the process or progress of; retard; hinder: The dense fog delayed the plane's landing. v.i. to put off action; linger; loiter: He delayed until it was too late. n. the act of delaying; …

Feb 21, 2026 · /dɪˈleɪd/ /dɪˈleɪd/ IPA guide Definitions of delayed adjective not as far along as normal in development

The doctor wants to delay surgery for a few weeks. They delayed [= put off] having children until their late 30s. She's planning to delay her retirement.

delayed definition: postponed to a later time. Check meanings, examples, usage tips, pronunciation, domains, and related words. Discover expressions like "justice delayed is …

If you delay, you deliberately take longer than necessary to do something. If he delayed any longer, the sun would be up. [VERB]

Synonyms for DELAYED: belated, late, posthumous, postmortem, postponed, deferred, suspended, lingered; Antonyms of DELAYED: afoot, under weigh, under way, hurried, rushed, …