To delay or postpone (an event).
To allow (a person) extra time to fulfil some obligation.
The delay of appearance at court granted to a jury beyond the proper term.
A brief interval of rest or relief.
A short period of spoken dialogue in an otherwise sung-through musical.
A reprieve, especially from a sentence of death.
In social interactions, to request a deferral of an invitation. To "take a rain check" is a polite way to turn down an engagement, usually with the implication that one is simply postponing it and another time might be acceptable.
To request or accept a rain check (an agreement from a merchant to honor a special offer, temporarily unavailable, after the expiration date).