Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

delayed-action

American  
[dih-leyd-ak-shuhn] / dɪˈleɪdˈæk ʃən /
Also delay-action

adjective

  1. (of an explosive projectile) exploding some time after hitting the target.

delayed action British  

noun

    1. a device for operating a mechanism, such as a camera shutter, a short time after setting

    2. ( as modifier )

      a delayed-action fuse
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of delayed-action

First recorded in 1890–95

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.