When plans change: "postponed" vs. "delayed"

Reviewed and edited by

Anwar Kareem Today, 00:21

English.me team member

Postponed and delayed. What's the difference?

What is similar?

Both "postponed" and "delayed" refer to something that happens later than originally planned.

What is different?

"Postponed" usually means something is rescheduled to a specific later time, while "delayed" means something is held up, slowed, or occurs later than expected but may not specify a new time.

Which one is more common?

Examples of usage

Postponed

The meeting was postponed until next Friday.
Because of the storm, the game was postponed to a later date.

Delayed

The train was delayed due to mechanical problems.
Her flight was delayed by two hours because of bad weather.