latency

noun

la·ten·cy | \ ˈlā-tᵊn(t)-sē

plural latencies

Definition of latency

1 : the quality or state of being latent : dormancy latency is a characteristic common to all members of the troublesome herpes family— Claudia Wallis

2 : something latent writers who know how to evoke these latencies— E. C. Lindeman

3 : a stage of psychosexual (see psychosexual sense 1) development following the phallic (see phallic sense 3) stage that extends from about the age of five or six to the beginning of puberty and during which sexual urges often appear to lie dormant

4 : latent period sense 2

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Examples of latency in a Sentence

the flower bulbs went from latency to full bloom in a matter of days

Recent Examples on the Web

Its main advantages are very high speeds and very low latency. — Larry Magid, The Mercury News, "Magid: 5G brings opportunities but also risks," 27 June 2019 Further Reading Google tries to reassure gamers about Stadia speed and latency concerns Google is now recommending users have at least a 10mbps Internet connection to use Stadia. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Google Stadia requires $130 upfront, $10 per month at November launch," 6 June 2019 The tests look at average upload and download speeds, maximum uploads and downloads, latency and reliability. — Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle, "AT&T takes crown in PCMag.com’s 2019 mobile speed test," 20 June 2019 There’s also the promise of lower latency; that’s the term for that annoying delay before a Netflix movie starts. — Hiawatha Bray, BostonGlobe.com, "5G is coming, but there’s really no need to rush in," 17 June 2019 In fact, exercise consistently correlated with a reduction in sleep onset latency (a.k.a. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "How to Go to Sleep Fast, According to Sleep Specialists," 10 June 2019 The period of latency dropped from roughly 200 milliseconds to only about 120 milliseconds. — Quanta Magazine, "Brains Speed Up Perception by Guessing What’s Next," 2 May 2019 The founder of esports team Fnatic appeared on stage to remind gamers what esports prioritizes: 1080p resolution and 144Hz or higher refresh rates, with as low of a latency as possible. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "AMD announces 3rd-gen Ryzen and Radeon VII, beating Intel and Nvidia to 7nm," 9 Jan. 2019 This advanced form off wireless connection could possibly reaching speeds 100 times faster, support 100 times more devices, and feature five times lower latency than today's 4G networks. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "5G Could Interfere With Weather Satellites, Scientists Warn," 29 Apr. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'latency.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

11 Jul 2019

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The first known use of latency was in 1615

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More Definitions for latency

latency

noun

la·ten·cy | \ ˈlāt-ᵊn-sē

plural latencies

Medical Definition of latency

1 or latency period or latent period

a : the quality or state of being latent especially : the state or period of living or developing in a host without producing symptoms The cellular mechanisms by which viral latency is maintained or viral replication is induced is not known. — Science, 20 June 1986 During this nonreplicating latent period, the virus' home is believed to be the ganglia of nerves serving the area where the herpes lesion initially appeared. — The Journal of the American Medical Association, 11 Nov. 1983

b : the time or period between exposure to a disease-causing agent or process and the onset of symptoms or disease In the worst cases, chronic active hepatitis develops and can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and finally to hepatocellular carcinoma. … Usually the cancer does not develop until after a 30- to 50- year latency period …— Peter Tiollais and Marie-Annick Buenidia, Scientific American, April 1991

2 usually latency period or latency stage : a stage of psychosexual development that follows the phallic stage and precedes the genital stage, extends from about the age of five or six to the beginning of puberty, and during which sexual urges often appear to lie dormant

3 or latent period : the time interval between application of a stimulus and the beginning of an identifiable response (such as muscle contraction) : reaction time