latency

noun la·ten·cy \ ˈlā-tᵊn(t)-sē \

Updated on: 16 May 2018

plural latencies

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 1) development following the phallic (see phallic 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 2

Examples of latency in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of latency from the Web

OcuSync is designed for low-latency, high-resolution video, specifically for use with DJI’s FPV racing goggles, and promises better performance across the board compared to the old system.

— chaim gartenberg, The Verge, "DJI made a quieter version of the Phantom 4 Pro," 9 May 2018
Architecturally, the biggest improvements seem to have been made to memory and cache latencies.

— peter bright, Ars Technica, "Ryzen gains on Intel with second generation," 19 Apr. 2018
Palmer says the latency of 5G is about 100 times faster than the blink of an eye.

— edward c. baig, USA TODAY, "5G speed phones: We now know when they're coming, and where," 28 Feb. 2018
Auto Low-Latency Mode, as Microsoft calls it, will be supported on new TVs, and will automatically switch a TV into game mode to take advantage of the latency reductions.

— tom warren, The Verge, "Xbox One April update rolling out with low-latency mode, FreeSync, and 1440p support," 24 Apr. 2018
Not only is there very little latency when writing with the S Pen, but the convertible also has decent handwriting-to-text recognition.

— valentina palladino, Ars Technica, "Samsung Notebook 9 Pen review: Stylus convenience, devoid of style," 4 Apr. 2018
The aim is to have a ubiquitous network that can run with lower latency, or lag time, in transferring data -- the type of super-fast connections that enable advances like robotic surgery and autonomous cars.

— scott moritz, Bloomberg.com, "Trump's China Concern Adds Pressure in Race to Be First With 5G," 2 Apr. 2018
That's going to show up as an option for consumers in future reports even though few people would choose satellite over cable or fiber because of satellite's latency and low data caps.

— jon brodkin, Ars Technica, "FCC report finds almost no broadband competition at 100Mbps speeds," 12 Feb. 2018
The Waymo approach ensures that latency — a delay in the communications traffic — doesn’t compromise the car’s driving behavior by leaving a remote operator unable to react in real time.

— john r. quain, New York Times, "When Self-Driving Cars Can’t Help Themselves, Who Takes the Wheel?," 15 Mar. 2018

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.

First Known Use of latency

1615

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

latency Synonyms

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Medical Dictionary

latency

noun la·ten·cy \ ˈlāt-ᵊn-sē \

plural latencies

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

Learn More about latency

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for latency Nglish: Translation of latency for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of latency for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up latency? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

latency

Examples of latency in a Sentence

Recent Examples of latency from the Web

First Known Use of latency

latency Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Psychology Terms

Medical Dictionary

latency

Learn More about latency

Seen and Heard

WORD OF THE DAY

arrogate

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Test Your Vocabulary

Words at Play

Noun + Verb Insult Generator

'Judicial' v. 'Judicious': We'll Settle The Case

'Deprived' vs. 'Depraved'

'Folksonomy': Let’s Get Organized

Ask the Editors

Ghost Word

2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

Literally

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

Word Games

May 2018 Words of the Day Quiz

Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

Spell It

Word Winder's CrossWinder

8 Insults Made Up of a Noun and a Verb

'Judicial' v. 'Judicious': We'll Settle The Case

May 2018 Words of the Day Quiz

Trending: Melania Trump Undergoes 'Embolization'

Ghost Word

latency

Examples of latency in a Sentence

Recent Examples of latency from the Web

First Known Use of latency

latency Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Psychology Terms

Medical Dictionary

latency

Learn More about latency

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

8 Insults Made Up of a Noun and a Verb

'Judicial' v. 'Judicious': We'll Settle The Case

May 2018 Words of the Day Quiz

Trending: Melania Trump Undergoes 'Embolization'

Ghost Word