1
a
: a supply (as of horses) arranged beforehand for successive relief
b
: a number of persons who relieve others in some work
worked in relays around the clock
2
a
: a race between teams in which each team member successively covers a specified portion of the course
b
: one of the divisions of a relay
3
: an electromagnetic device for remote or automatic control that is actuated by variation in conditions of an electric circuit and that operates in turn other devices (such as switches) in the same or a different circuit
4
5
: the act of passing along (something, such as a message or ball) by stages
also
: one of such stages
relayed; relaying
1
a
: to place or dispose in relays
b
: to provide with relays
2
: to pass along by relays
news was relayed to distant points
3
: to control or operate by a relay
relaid
(ˌ)rē-ˈlād 
; relaying
; relaying
: to lay again
relay track
Examples of relay in a Sentence
Noun
Our relay team is training for next weekend's race.
a satellite relay of a television signal
We set up a relay to carry buckets of water to the campsite.
They worked in relays to clear the rubble.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ségolène Le Stradic, New York Times, 8 May 2024
Only this time the Highlanders had to share the title with Palisades, which rallied to take second place in the 400-meter freestyle relay by a mere 0.59 seconds Saturday, thanks to a blazing anchor leg by freshman Alexis Burrell.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024
Besides the new mark in the 100-yard backstroke, there was consideration of his four high school seasons, three individual records and two relay marks.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 May 2024
Marshall ran the opening leg in the team’s Gold winning 4x200m relay event.
—Mike Waters, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 May 2024
How to register for the Flying Pig While the 10K, Flying Pig relay, Flying Fur and the Skyline Chili 3-Way and 4-Way Challenges are sold out, registration is still open for the full marathon, half-marathon, 5K, Fifty West Mile, Flying Piglet, 26th mile and PigAbilities.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 May 2024
The far-side mission will require communications with a relay satellite, specifically the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, which launched in March 2024.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 2 May 2024
Notre Dame’s 4x100 relay team ran a season-best time of 41.23 and includes its super quick quarterback, Steele Pizzella.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024
The standard version of Beeper used hundreds of Mac mini computers as relay points so that Android messages to iOS devices wouldn’t default to SMS.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2024
Kyle Barr / Gizmodo, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
In the video from New York, a man who appears to be relaying a message from Google management informs the protesting workers that they have been placed on administrative leave and asks them to take the opportunity to depart peacefully.
—Caroline Haskins, WIRED, 17 Apr. 2024
Some days later, a monitor in the operations center relayed a live aerial feed of the land drone travelling up the road into Tabaivka.
—Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Gallant relayed Israel’s progress in dismantling Hamas in the Gaza Strip as well as ongoing efforts to return hostages taken during the militant group’s brutal attack on Oct. 7 that left 1,200 dead.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 2 Apr. 2024
Two members of the Mexican consulate traveled from Indianapolis to attend the hearing, at which a translator sat by Garcia-Gutierrez's side to quietly relay questions and testimony to him during the proceeding.
—The Enquirer, 11 Apr. 2024
The teacher also relayed that information to Parker through an intermediary, according to the lawsuit.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Chung relayed another instruction: the Citroën should drive faster onto the bridge.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
The deputy relayed that information to a staffer in Walter’s courtroom.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Noun
The elaborate relay will involve more than 10,000 people and will include France’s overseas departments as well as mainland France and Corsica.
—Ségolène Le Stradic, New York Times, 8 May 2024
Only this time the Highlanders had to share the title with Palisades, which rallied to take second place in the 400-meter freestyle relay by a mere 0.59 seconds Saturday, thanks to a blazing anchor leg by freshman Alexis Burrell.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024
Besides the new mark in the 100-yard backstroke, there was consideration of his four high school seasons, three individual records and two relay marks.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 May 2024
Marshall ran the opening leg in the team’s Gold winning 4x200m relay event.
—Mike Waters, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 May 2024
How to register for the Flying Pig While the 10K, Flying Pig relay, Flying Fur and the Skyline Chili 3-Way and 4-Way Challenges are sold out, registration is still open for the full marathon, half-marathon, 5K, Fifty West Mile, Flying Piglet, 26th mile and PigAbilities.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 May 2024
The far-side mission will require communications with a relay satellite, specifically the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, which launched in March 2024.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 2 May 2024
Notre Dame’s 4x100 relay team ran a season-best time of 41.23 and includes its super quick quarterback, Steele Pizzella.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024
The standard version of Beeper used hundreds of Mac mini computers as relay points so that Android messages to iOS devices wouldn’t default to SMS.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2024
Verb
AirTags uses the BlueTooth signal on nearby iPhones to relay its position.
—Kyle Barr / Gizmodo, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
In the video from New York, a man who appears to be relaying a message from Google management informs the protesting workers that they have been placed on administrative leave and asks them to take the opportunity to depart peacefully.
—Caroline Haskins, WIRED, 17 Apr. 2024
Some days later, a monitor in the operations center relayed a live aerial feed of the land drone travelling up the road into Tabaivka.
—Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Gallant relayed Israel’s progress in dismantling Hamas in the Gaza Strip as well as ongoing efforts to return hostages taken during the militant group’s brutal attack on Oct. 7 that left 1,200 dead.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 2 Apr. 2024
Two members of the Mexican consulate traveled from Indianapolis to attend the hearing, at which a translator sat by Garcia-Gutierrez's side to quietly relay questions and testimony to him during the proceeding.
—The Enquirer, 11 Apr. 2024
The teacher also relayed that information to Parker through an intermediary, according to the lawsuit.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Chung relayed another instruction: the Citroën should drive faster onto the bridge.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
The deputy relayed that information to a staffer in Walter’s courtroom.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'relay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near relay
Cite this Entry
“Relay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relay. Accessed 12 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
relay
1 of 3 noun
re·lay
ˈrē-ˌlā
1
: a fresh supply (as of horses or people) arranged to relieve others
2
a
: a race between teams in which each team member covers an assigned part of the course
b
: one of the divisions of a relay
3
: an electromagnetic device in which the opening or closing of one circuit operates another device (as a switch in another circuit)
4
: the act of passing along (as a message or a ball) by stages
also
: one of such stages
the shortstop's relay from center field was too late to catch the runner
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