latency
Other forms: latencies
Latency is a noun referring to something inactive, dormant, or lying in wait. It’s the state of not being visibly active yet — like when you're hiding out and waiting to jump up and yell "Surprise!"
Perhaps a little late, perhaps right on time, latency will wake up from its nap eventually. For a characteristic or skill to be in a period of latency, it does have to exist. So you should only use latency to describe your pitching ability if there is a fastball in you somewhere – otherwise, just admit you can’t pitch. If you’re in the lab, latency is also used to describe the period between a stimulus and a response.
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the state of being not yet evident or active
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the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to itsynonyms: latent period, reaction time, response time
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(computer science) the time it takes for a specific block of data on a data track to rotate around to the read/write headsynonyms: rotational latency
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Vocabulary lists containing latency
We’ve rounded up the top words heard, read, and discussed in the news this week. Take a look back at the week that was, vocabulary style.
As you read Barbara Kingsolver's "Called Out," learn this word list. Here are links to lists for texts in Grade 10's Collection 2: Called Out, Hope for Animals and Their World, My Life as a Bat