Delay
Delay noun - An instance or period of being prevented from going about one's business.
Usage example: there was a delay for our boarding while the airplane unloaded incoming passengers
Wait is a synonym for delay in hold-up topic. In some cases you can use "Wait" instead the word "Delay" as a noun or a verb, when it comes to topics like state, event, await, do. popular alternative
Wait
Wait noun - An instance or period of being prevented from going about one's business.
Usage example: there was a long wait for the manager to come and help us
Delay is a synonym for wait in activity topic. You can use "Delay" instead the word "Wait" as a noun or a verb, if it concerns topics such as state, event, pause, await. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| old | old delay | old wait |
| high | high delay | high wait |
| long | long delay | long wait |
| usual | usual delay | usual wait |
| Other adjectives: short, huge, little, black, less, odd, lengthy, longest, longer, year-long. | ||
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
-
Goldblum in "Update Day" Goldblum: Episode Three isn't going to delay itself...oh, wait; yes, it will!
Source: Machinima / The Gmod Idiot Box -
Again regarding Garrosh's apparently unwise delay in the attack.Garrosh: And now, can you tell me what my decision to wait has brought us?
Source: Literature / Tides of War - Elraine will patiently wait for you even though she's actively been trying to prevent you from reaching her (or at least trying to delay you) at every opportunity before now.
Source: Take Your Time
Cite this Source
Wait and Delay. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 13, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/delay/wait
Delay & Wait. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/delay/wait>.
Wait or Delay. 2016. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/delay/wait.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "delay" and "wait" have occurred on timeline