burst vs delay

burst

verb
  • To interrupt suddenly in a violent or explosive manner; to shatter. 

  • To cause to break from internal pressure. 

  • To break from internal pressure. 

  • To separate (printer paper) at perforation lines. 

  • To produce as an effect of bursting. 

  • To erupt; to change state suddenly as if bursting. 

  • To enter or exit hurriedly and unexpectedly. 

noun
  • An act or instance of bursting. 

  • A series of shots fired from an automatic firearm. 

  • A sudden, often intense, expression, manifestation or display. 

  • The explosion of a bomb or missile. 

delay

verb
  • To retard; to stop, detain, or hinder, for a time. 

  • To put off until a later time; to defer. 

noun
  • A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity. 

  • An audio effects unit that introduces a controlled delay. 

  • Synonym of promise (“object representing delayed result”) 

  • An amount of time provided on each move before one's clock starts to tick; a less common time control than increment. 

How often have the words burst and delay occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )