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
Brenna Gauchat, The Arizona Republic, 9 May 2024
In January, new regulations required officers to identify their own gender identity to their employers, who would then relay that information to the state anti-discrimination board.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
Pulled from a forecasting tool, the tool relays your heat risk via a meter, ranging from no risk to extreme.
—Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 6 May 2024
During the next game between the teams, Tuesday at De La Salle, the complaint states that Jeans attempted to relay signs the same way for the first two innings.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 4 May 2024
The university ended its inquiry earlier, President James T. Harris III relayed in a campus statement Dec. 14.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 May 2024
Cultural arbitrage now happens so frequently and rapidly as to be nearly undetectable, usually with no extraordinary profits going to those responsible for relaying the information.
—W. David Marx, The Atlantic, 1 May 2024
But what was being relayed back to mission controllers — including science data and information about the health of the probe and its various systems — was garbled and unreadable.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
AirTags uses the BlueTooth signal on nearby iPhones to relay its position.
—Kyle Barr / Gizmodo, Quartz, 18 Apr. 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
The two-stage rocket transports people and payloads — the portion of the spacecraft that produces mission data and then relays it back to Earth —into space and back.
—Brenna Gauchat, The Arizona Republic, 9 May 2024
In January, new regulations required officers to identify their own gender identity to their employers, who would then relay that information to the state anti-discrimination board.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
Pulled from a forecasting tool, the tool relays your heat risk via a meter, ranging from no risk to extreme.
—Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 6 May 2024
During the next game between the teams, Tuesday at De La Salle, the complaint states that Jeans attempted to relay signs the same way for the first two innings.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 4 May 2024
The university ended its inquiry earlier, President James T. Harris III relayed in a campus statement Dec. 14.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 May 2024
Cultural arbitrage now happens so frequently and rapidly as to be nearly undetectable, usually with no extraordinary profits going to those responsible for relaying the information.
—W. David Marx, The Atlantic, 1 May 2024
But what was being relayed back to mission controllers — including science data and information about the health of the probe and its various systems — was garbled and unreadable.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
AirTags uses the BlueTooth signal on nearby iPhones to relay its position.
—Kyle Barr / Gizmodo, Quartz, 18 Apr. 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 14 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share