time lag

noun

variants or less commonly time-lag

ˈtīm-ˌlag 

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

Given the usual time lags in book publishing and the rush of recent discoveries, the book is extraordinarily up to date …

—James Cornell

There 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

Examples 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

That multiyear time lag in the analogy reflects the yoctosecond time lag between the collision and your ability to capture it, correct? —Henry Carnell, Quanta Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025

From a tactical perspective, the time lag between exposure and symptoms has limited the utility of biological weapons on a battlefield. —Kate Charlet, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2018

These days, there is little to no time lag between making environmental commitments, doing the work to deliver on them and reporting on your progress. —Jody L. Bickel, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

Estimation of the time lags from historical data is confounded by structural changes in the economy. —Bill Conerly, Forbes, 21 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

time lag

noun

: the period of time between two related happenings (as a cause and its effect)