experienced a delay

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "experienced a delay" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it when describing a situation where something was postponed or took longer than expected. For example, "The flight experienced a delay due to bad weather." Alternative expressions include "faced a delay" and "encountered a delay."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

46 human-written examples

Mr. Filner had "experienced a delay in claiming his bag," according to United Airlines.

The New York Times

"We know how important Mother's Day is and we have apologised to and compensated all customers who have experienced a delay.

The Guardian - Money

Related: Too many die without dignity, says report on end-of-life care More than 5,000 people in January, February and March alone experienced a delay for such treatment, which cancer charities warn can cause worry and alarm and also, in some cases, reduce a patient's chances of beating the disease.

The Guardian

Forty-four oftwo hundred and thirty-oney-one patients (19 %) expatientsd a delay in awakening ≥48 h.

Annals of Intensive Care

For instance, Brinkley-Rubinstein and Turner (2013) found that HIV positive inmates often experienced a delay in medical treatment and low quality of care while incarcerated.

Health & Justice

The same airline said another Dreamliner flight, shuttling between Haneda and the southern Miyazaki prefecture, experienced a delay due to an oil leak from a generator inside an engine.

BBC

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

14 human-written examples

The indigenous people of northern Sweden experienced a delayed process, and at the end of the 19th century, their IMR were still above the national average.

Global Health Action

Analysis of 30-second SR SO2 qO2 profiles revealed that some capillaries experienced a delayed response to periods of low capillary RBC SO2 (<20%%, referred to as capillary hypoxia).

Critical Care

Many of the women interviewed experienced a delayed response from nurses and lack of support during the birth process with no progress of labour.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

A few years ago, a customer experiencing a delay rarely took the additional time to write a letter of complaint.

Harvard Business Review

By 11 13 a.m., Nasdaq warned market participants that it was experiencing a delay in delivering the opening price.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using this in medical or scientific contexts, specify the duration of the delay (e.g., "experienced a delay of 48 hours") to provide necessary data precision

Common error

Do not use redundant adjectives like "experienced a late delay". A delay by definition implies lateness, so adding "late" creates a circular and unprofessional sentence structure

Linguistic Context

The phrase "experienced a delay" functions as a transitive verb phrase in the past tense. It describes an event where a subject is affected by a postponement. According to Ludwig AI, it is a standard construction used to report setbacks neutrally in various professional fields.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

Science

45%

News & Media

30%

Formal & Business

15%

Less common in

Academia

5%

Wiki

3%

Social Media

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "experienced a delay" is a robust and grammatically correct expression widely used in professional English. Analysis from Ludwig shows a high concentration of this phrase in scientific research, particularly when documenting patient treatment timelines and in investigative journalism reporting on logistical failures. It is preferred for its neutral tone, which allows writers to state facts about time loss without assigning blame. Whether you are writing a medical case study or a business status update, "experienced a delay" remains a precise and authoritative choice for describing a postponement. Alternative phrases like "encountered a setback" can be used to add variety, but the primary phrase remains the most frequent in technical contexts.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

encountered a delay

Suggests meeting an unexpected obstacle during a process

faced a delay

Emphasizes the delay as a challenge to be addressed

suffered a delay

Implies a more negative impact or loss resulting from the wait

met with a delay

A slightly more formal way to describe an interruption

sustained a delay

Often used in legal or technical contexts to describe a lasting impact

endured a delay

Suggests a long or particularly frustrating waiting period

witnessed a delay

Used when observing a delay from an external or reporting perspective

underwent a delay

Implies the subject was part of a process that was slowed down

dealt with a delay

Focuses on the management or handling of the late occurrence

saw a delay

A simpler, more journalistic way to report the occurrence

FAQs

How do I use "experienced a delay" in a formal email?

You can use it to explain a setback professionally, for example: "Our team "experienced a delay" in the procurement process which may affect the final delivery date".

What is a more active alternative to "experienced a delay"?

If you want to be more direct, you can use "faced a setback" or simply state that the project "was delayed".

Is it correct to say "experienced a delay of" or "experienced a delay in"?

Both are correct but serve different purposes. Use "of" for duration (e.g., "a delay of two weeks") and "in" for the area affected (e.g., "a delay in production").

What is the difference between "experienced a delay" and "suffered a delay"?

While ""experienced a delay"" is neutral, "suffered a delay" implies that the wait caused significant harm or disadvantage.