# latency

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈleɪ.tən.si/ · frequency rank #19,380

## Definitions
1. Concealment; the state of being latent; the state of being hidden.
2. Dormancy; the state of being inactive.
3. A delay, an interval between the initiation of something and the occurrence.
4. The time delay between a request for data or action and the beginning of the response or execution, often measured to assess system performance.
5. The delay between a stimulus and the response it triggers in an organism.
6. A stage in Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of the psychosexual development of children where children become asexual until their sexual desires come back at puberty.

## Etymology
From latent + -ency.

## Easily confused with
- **latent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/latency-vs-latent)
- **lately** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lately-vs-latency)

## Common misspellings (11)
`altency`, `laetncy`, `latecny`, `latenccy`, `latencyy`, `latenncy`, `latenyc`, `latnecy`, `lattency`, `llatency`, `ltaency`

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