# decoy vs delay

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### decoy
*noun · IPA /ˈdiːkɔɪ/ · frequency rank #27,424*
A person or object meant to lure somebody into danger.

### delay
*noun · IPA /dɪˈleɪ/ · frequency rank #3,618*
A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/decoy-vs-delay