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PlainSpell

relay

/ˈɹiːleɪ/noun, verb

relay is spelled R-E-L-A-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, relay means “A new set of hounds” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of relay is relays.

How many letters and syllables are in relay?

Letters5: R-E-L-A-Y
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing7.2 times per million words; the 8,784th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 relay?

Relay appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th 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 relay?

  • /ˈɹiːleɪ/

As a verb (“To pass on or transfer (information)”): /ɹiˈleɪ/, /ˈɹiːleɪ/.

As a verb (“Alternative spelling of re-lay”): /ˌɹiːˈleɪ/, /ˌɹiˈleɪ/.

Relay has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-relay_(noun).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-relay_(verb).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with relay

Sounds like: re-lay (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: re-lay (one word or two).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with relay?

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

Spelled with the same letters in another order: early, layer, leary.

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 relay

  • relays plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • relaying participle, present
  • relayed participle, past
  • relaid participle, past

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

What does relay mean?

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

noun

  1. 1

    rareA new set of hounds.

  2. 2

    A new set of horses kept along a specific route so that they can replace animals that are tired.

  3. 3

    A new set of anything.

  4. 4

    A series of vehicles travelling in sequence.

  5. 5

    A competition between teams where members of a team take turns completing parts of a course or performing a certain action.

  6. 6

    A track and field discipline where runners take turns in carrying a baton from start to finish. The most common events are 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter competitions.

  7. 7

    An electrical actuator that allows a relatively small electrical voltage or current to control a larger voltage or current.

verb

  1. 1

    To pass on or transfer (information).

    The CCTV cameras relay what's going on to the headquarters.

  2. 2

    obsoleteTo release a new set of hounds.

  3. 3

    archaicTo place (people or horses) in relays, such that one can take over from another.

  4. 4

    archaicTo take on a new relay of horses; to change horses.

  5. 5

    Alternative spelling of re-lay.

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

Relay in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrelais, relai (electrical actuator), transmettre (to pass on or transfer (information)), relayer (to place (people or horses) in relays)
GermanRelais (electrical actuator), weitergeben (to pass on or transfer (information)), Staffellauf (athletics discipline)
Portugueserelé (electrical actuator), revezamento (athletics discipline)
Spanishrelé, actuador (electrical actuator), comunicar (to pass on or transfer (information)), relevos, carrera de relevos (athletics discipline)

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 relay come from?

From Middle French relai (“reserve pack of hounds”), from relaier (“to exchange tired animals for fresh”); literally, "to leave behind", from Old French relaier (“to leave behind”), from re- + laier (“to leave”), of uncertain origin.

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

What to look up after relay