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PlainSpell

delay

de·lay/dɪˈleɪ/noun, verb

delay is spelled D-E-L-A-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables (de·lay). It appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,612th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, delay means “A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of delay is delays.

How many letters and syllables are in delay?

Letters5: D-E-L-A-Y
Syllables2: de·lay
In writing25 times per million words; the 3,612th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is delay?

Delay appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,612th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce delay?

  • UK /dɪˈleɪ/
  • US /dɪˈleɪ/
  • US /diˈleɪ/

Delay has 2 syllables, split de·lay in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-delay.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with delay?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as delay from its last stressed vowel (/eɪ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: dealy.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of delay

  • delays plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • delaying participle, present
  • delayed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does delay mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.

    the delay before the echo of a sound

  2. 2

    An audio effects unit that introduces a controlled delay.

  3. 3

    Synonym of promise (“object representing delayed result”).

  4. 4

    An amount of time provided on each move before one's clock starts to tick; a less common time control than increment.

verb

  1. 1

    To put off until a later time; to defer.

  2. 2

    To retard; to temporarily stop, detain, or hinder.

    The mail is delayed by a heavy fall of snow.

  3. 3

    To wait, hesitate, tarry.

    Don't delay; this special offer ends at midnight!

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo allay; to temper.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo dilute, temper.

  6. 6

    obsoleteTo assuage, quench, allay.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Delay in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdélai, retard (period of time before an event occurs; act of…), retarder (to put off until a later time)
GermanVerzögerung, Verspätung (period of time before an event occurs; act of…), aufschieben, unterbrechen, sich verspäten, verschieben (to put off until a later time)
Portugueseatraso, demora, mora, espera, delay (period of time before an event occurs; act of…), atrasar (to put off until a later time)
Spanishretraso, demora, atraso, retardo (period of time before an event occurs; act of…), atrasar, demorar (to put off until a later time)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does delay come from?

From Middle English delaien, borrowed from Anglo-Norman delaier, Old French deslaier, from des- + Old French laier (“to leave”), a conflation of Old Frankish *lattjan ("to delay, hinder"; from Proto-Germanic *latjaną (“to delay, hinder, stall”), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- (“to leave, leave behind”)), and Old Frankish *laibijan ("to leave"; from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to leave, cause to stay”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to remain, continue”)). Doublet of dally.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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