delay
delay — adjective
1. not happening or arriving at the planned or expected time, often causing changes
not happening or arriving at the planned or expected time, often causing changes to later arrangements
The delayed flight from Tokyo finally landed at around two in the morning.
collocation: delayed flight / delayed train
Amara received a delayed payment for her freelance project last month.
collocation: delayed payment / delayed response
Because of the delayed train, Wei missed the first part of the meeting.
The children were disappointed about the delayed start of the summer camp.
Clara's delayed reply to the job offer meant the company hired someone else.
用法筆記
As a participial adjective, 'delayed' is the adjective form of the verb 'delay'. It often appears before nouns describing transport (flight, train, bus), events (start, opening), or communications (response, reply, payment).
常見錯誤
delay — noun
1. the general situation or concept of being made to wait or of something being arr
the general situation or concept of being made to wait or of something being arranged for a later time, considered as an uncountable state rather than a specific incident
The manager apologized for the delay in sending out the monthly invoices.
pattern: delay in + gerund
Any delay in treatment could make the patient's condition much worse.
Please submit your report without delay — the deadline is this Friday.
The construction project faced serious delay because of the bad weather.
Yuna tried to avoid any delay by checking in for her flight online.
- postponement
more formal; suggests a deliberate decision rather than an unavoidable wait
- hold-up
informal; used for a temporary interruption
- punctuality
the quality of being on time
- promptness
acting without delay
文法句型
delay + in + noun/gerund
without + delay
常見錯誤
2. a specific occasion when someone or something is made to arrive late or start la
a specific occasion when someone or something is made to arrive late or start later than planned
There was a short delay while the technicians repaired the computer server.
structure: there was/were + (adjective) + delay(s)
The bus driver explained that the delay was due to road construction work.
After a two-hour delay at the airport, Sofia finally boarded her plane.
Commuters faced long delays on the motorway because of the accident.
Nadia called her mother to say she would be late because of a delay on the subway.
文法句型
there + be + delay
delay + to + noun
3. the length of time by which something is late; the duration that passes between
the length of time by which something is late; the duration that passes between the expected time and the actual time of an event or arrival
The delay between ordering and delivery was nearly three weeks.
pattern: delay between X and Y
The delay between the first and second doses should be at least four weeks.
pattern: delay of [duration]
A five-second delay on the live broadcast made the interview sound awkward.
The doctor warned that a delay of more than six hours in treating the wound could lead to infection.
Hugo calculated the delay in minutes at each checkpoint along the delivery route.
文法句型
delay + of + duration
delay + between + noun + and + noun
delay — verb
1. to choose to do something at a later time instead of the time that was originall
to choose to do something at a later time instead of the time that was originally planned or expected
The school decided to delay the final exams by one week because of the storm.
pattern: delay + noun + by + time
Omar delayed booking his flight until he heard back from the company.
pattern: delay + gerund
We cannot delay making a decision any longer — the offer expires tomorrow.
The film studio delayed the movie release to add more visual effects.
Linh delayed telling her parents about the job offer until she felt ready.
文法句型
delay + noun
delay + -ing
be delayed
用法筆記
Often used with 'until' to specify the new time, or 'by' to indicate the length of the postponement.
常見錯誤
2. to cause someone or something to remain in one place or situation longer than in
to cause someone or something to remain in one place or situation longer than intended
The immigration officer delayed the travelers at the border for almost two hours.
passive: be delayed at [place]
Heavy traffic delayed the delivery driver on her morning route through the city.
collocation: delayed by traffic
The teacher delayed the students after class to discuss their homework.
A mechanical fault delayed the train for about twenty minutes near the station.
An urgent phone call delayed Diego's departure from the office by nearly an hour.
- release
to allow someone to leave
文法句型
delay + noun
be delayed + by + noun
be delayed + for + time
3. to make a process, activity, or movement happen at a lower speed than usual or e
to make a process, activity, or movement happen at a lower speed than usual or expected
The snowstorm delayed the construction work on the new bridge by several days.
passive: be delayed by [external factor]
A software error delayed the shipping process from the central warehouse.
The patient's recovery was delayed by a secondary lung infection.
Bad weather delayed the rescue team's progress through the mountain pass.
These new safety checks could delay the approval of the medicine by months.
- speed up
to make something go faster
- accelerate
to increase speed
文法句型
delay + noun
be delayed + by + noun
noun + delay(s)
4. to move or do things at a slow pace, especially when others are waiting or when
to move or do things at a slow pace, especially when others are waiting or when there is a time limit
The tour group delayed so long over souvenirs that they missed the guided museum tour.
pattern: delayed so long over [activity]
Kwame delayed over packing his schoolbag and got to class just as the bell rang.
pattern: delayed over [activity/task]
If you delay too long at the checkout counter, you will miss the last bus home.
Elena delayed so long over breakfast that she missed the express train to Taipei.
The children delayed so long on their way to school, watching ducks in the park pond.
- dawdle
more common for this sense; suggests wasting time on purpose
- linger
suggests staying in a place because you enjoy it, not necessarily causing lateness
- procrastinate
specifically about putting off tasks that need to be done
- hurry
to move or act quickly
文法句型
delay + adverbial