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
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
Dominik, who sleds for Italy, took bronze in singles and team relay.
—John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026
CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
Influencers relayed the timeline from the hours after Nancy Guthrie was last seen and posted photos of the blood found on her front porch that later was a match for the 84-year-old grandmother.
—Dallas Morning News, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relay
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Noun
With equal panache, and without cutting away, the narrative focus is handed like a baton in a relay race to the arriving Mayor Dumont (Josse De Pauw) and his daughter and press attaché Marie (Violet Braeckman).
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
Dominik, who sleds for Italy, took bronze in singles and team relay.
—John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Verb
My concern with what the director did is that this information was not relayed to Congress.
—CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
Influencers relayed the timeline from the hours after Nancy Guthrie was last seen and posted photos of the blood found on her front porch that later was a match for the 84-year-old grandmother.
—Dallas Morning News, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relay
Cite this Entry
“Relay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relay. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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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