Delay example sentences

Related (13): postpone, defer, procrastinate, stall, wait, pause, suspend, lag, setback, slowdown, hurry, expedite, accelerate

"Delay" Example Sentences

  1. The flight got delayed by three hours and nobody told us why.
  2. I didn't delay telling her the truth — I just couldn't find the right moment.
  3. Don't delay on that email; she's been waiting since yesterday.
  4. There's always some delay at the airport, so we left extra early.
  5. He kept trying to delay the conversation, but eventually we had to talk.
  6. Medical delays mean some patients wait months for surgery they need now.
  7. We can't delay any longer — the decision has to happen today.
  8. Traffic caused a delay that made me miss the meeting entirely.
  9. She didn't want to delay her retirement, so she quit last month.
  10. Every delay in the project costs us money we don't have.
  11. I hate when people delay responding to messages for days.
  12. The delay between stimulus and response is where all the freedom lives.
  13. Construction on the highway created a massive delay this morning.
  14. You shouldn't delay seeking help if something feels wrong.
  15. There's no point trying to delay the inevitable — it's coming anyway.
  16. The delay in shipping means the package won't arrive until next week.
  17. We decided not to delay the wedding even though his family couldn't make it.
  18. Bureaucratic delay is why nothing ever gets done in government.
  19. I'm going to delay my vacation by a month to finish this project.
  20. The delay felt endless while we waited for test results.
  21. She used every tactic to delay the meeting, but it happened anyway.
  22. Network delay made the video call completely useless.
  23. There's a natural delay between what you think and what you say.
  24. He didn't want to delay asking her out, so he just did it.
  25. The delay in treatment made everything worse than it needed to be.
  26. I can't delay this conversation any longer — we need to talk now.
  27. Weather caused a delay that pushed everything back by hours.
  28. You'll regret it if you delay starting therapy.
  29. The delay between the lightning and thunder told us how far away it was.
  30. We won't delay the announcement — it's happening tomorrow morning.

Common Phrases

  1. without delay
  2. delay tactics
  3. cause a delay
  4. delay of game
  5. time delay
  6. delay in
  7. delay payment
  8. delay gratification
  9. suffer a delay
  10. experience delay
  11. avoid delay

Examples by Level

A1
  1. The bus had a delay and came late.
  2. Don't delay — eat your dinner now.
A2
  1. There was a delay at the airport because of bad weather.
  2. He didn't want to delay telling her the news, so he called her right away.
B1
  1. Every delay in the project costs money, so we're trying to stay on schedule.
  2. She kept making excuses to delay the difficult conversation, but eventually we had to talk.
B2
  1. The delay between stimulus and response is where all our freedom actually lives.
  2. He'd spent years trying to delay the inevitable, but it caught up with him anyway.
C1
  1. What we perceive as delay is often just the gap between intention and execution — the space where real choice happens.
  2. The bureaucratic delay wasn't accidental; it was designed to exhaust people into giving up.
C2
  1. There's a particular cruelty in delay when you're already suffering — each hour stretches into something unbearable.
  2. She understood that to delay was not to avoid, merely to postpone the reckoning, and that knowledge made every day feel borrowed.

Examples by Scenario

🏠 Everyday Life
  1. The bus had a delay and I was late picking up my kid from school.
  2. I kept trying to delay going to the dentist, but the pain finally forced me to call.
💼 Workplace
  1. The delay in getting approval from management is holding up the whole team.
  2. She didn't delay — she just walked into his office and told him she was leaving.
📊 Business
  1. Any delay in shipment costs us customers, so we're investing in faster logistics.
  2. The delay in the contract signing is costing both companies money every day.
🛒 Buying / Shopping
  1. I kept trying to delay buying a new phone, but mine finally died completely.
  2. There's a delay on that item — it won't ship for another two weeks.
✈️ Travel
  1. The flight delay meant we missed our connection and spent the night in the airport.
  2. We didn't delay leaving early because we knew traffic would be bad.
📚 Education
  1. The delay in getting test scores back frustrated students who needed them for college.
  2. Don't delay starting your essay — you'll regret it the night before it's due.
❤️ Relationships
  1. We didn't delay breaking up even though it was painful — staying would've been worse.
  2. He kept trying to delay the conversation about moving in together, and that told me everything I needed to know.
📰 News / Politics
  1. The delay in releasing the report raised questions about what they were hiding.
  2. Officials tried to delay the announcement, but the story leaked anyway.
💻 Technology
  1. The delay in loading the page made the whole experience feel broken.
  2. Network delay during the video call made it impossible to have a real conversation.
📝 Formal Writing
  1. The delay in treatment significantly impacted patient outcomes across all demographic groups.
  2. Regulatory delay in approving the medication has extended the timeline by eighteen months.

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