relay

Noun

relay (plural relays)

1. (rare) A new set of hounds.
2. (historical) A new set of horses kept along a specific route so that they can replace animals that are tired.
3. (broadly) A new set of anything.
   • There is a snaky gleam in her hard grey eye, as of anticipated rounds of buttered toast, relays of hot chops, worryings and quellings of young children, sharp snappings at poor Berry, and all the other delights of her Ogress's castle.1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, “Retribution”, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 594
   • Bank-notes fluttered down and lay about in all directions, relays of sovereigns rolled away like so much dross, […]1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados
4. A series of vehicles travelling in sequence.
5. A competition between teams where members of a team take turns completing parts of a course or performing a certain action.

   Synonyms:

   relay race

   1. A track and field discipline where runners take turns in carrying a baton from start to finish. The most common events are 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter competitions.
6. An electrical actuator that allows a relatively small electrical voltage or current to control a larger voltage or current.

Verb

IPA/ɹiˈleɪ/

relay (third-person singular simple present relays, present participle relaying, simple past and past participle relayed)

1. (transitive) To pass on or transfer (information).
   • The CCTV cameras relay what's going on to the headquarters.
   • Can you relay this message to John?
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To release a new set of hounds.
3. (archaic, transitive) To place (people or horses) in relays, such that one can take over from another.
4. (archaic, intransitive) To take on a new relay of horses; to change horses.

   Synonyms:

   convey