time lag
noun
variants
or less commonly time-lag
plural time lags also time-lags
: an interval of time between two related phenomena or events
… there is a time lag between the companies' statements and the data captured in the department's jobs report.—
Sarah Chaney Cambon
Sarah Chaney CambonGiven the usual time lags in book publishing and the rush of recent discoveries, the book is extraordinarily up to date …—James Cornell
James CornellThere is frequently a time-lag between word and thing. Thus atomic bomb was coined by H. G. Wells in 1914, though the first explosion took place at Alamogordo, New Mexico, in 1945.—Geoffrey Hughes
Geoffrey HughesExamples of time lag in a Sentence
There's a time lag between when you see a stop sign and when your foot steps on the brake.
Recent Examples on the Web
Although this policy assumption will tend to ameliorate GDP deceleration, monetary policy acts with a significant time lag.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025
But does the time lag tend to produce results that are outdated or no longer relevant?
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Flying home from a successful tour finale in Vancouver last year with a decent time lag before the season began was seen as ideal.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 May 2025
This comparatively small genetic decline occurred whilst the species experienced a greater than 99% reduction in population size over the same time period, suggesting there is a time lag between demographic collapse and genetic erosion.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for time lag
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Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025
But does the time lag tend to produce results that are outdated or no longer relevant?
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Flying home from a successful tour finale in Vancouver last year with a decent time lag before the season began was seen as ideal.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 May 2025
This comparatively small genetic decline occurred whilst the species experienced a greater than 99% reduction in population size over the same time period, suggesting there is a time lag between demographic collapse and genetic erosion.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for time lag
Cite this Entry
“Time lag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/time%20lag. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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