In climbing, to belay someone is to keep them safe with a rope: you attach the rope to the climber and to a solid point, and you manage the slack so that if they fall, they do not fall far. The person holding that rope is the belayer; a belay can also mean the setup, or the safe point you clip to. Climbers shout things like “On belay!” to check that the rope is ready.

In climbing在攀岩裡，to belay someonebelay 某人 is to keep them safe with a rope就是用繩子讓他們保持安全：you attach the rope to the climber and to a solid point你把繩子接到攀爬者身上，也接到一個穩固的點，and you manage the slack然後你控制繩子的鬆緊 so that if they fall, they do not fall far讓他們萬一掉下來，也不會掉太遠。The person holding that rope拉著那條繩子的人 is the belayer叫 belayer；a belay can also mean the setupbelay 也可以指整套裝置，or the safe point you clip to或是你扣上去的那個安全點。Climbers shout things like "On belay!"攀岩者會喊「On belay!」這類的話 to check that the rope is ready來確認繩子準備好了。

Though actually the word is older than sport climbing. On ships, to belay a rope is to fasten it, often by winding it round a cleat. From that ship world comes a sharp command still heard in films and in some services: “Belay that!” — stop, cancel that order.

Though actually不過實際上，the word is older than sport climbing這個詞比運動攀岩還要老。On ships在船上，to belay a ropebelay 一條繩子 is to fasten it是把它繫緊，often by winding it round a cleat通常是繞在一個繫索栓（cleat）上。From that ship world從那個航海的世界，comes a sharp command still heard in films and in some services留下了一句在電影和某些部門裡還聽得到的口令："Belay that!"「Belay that!」——stop, cancel that order意思是停、取消那個命令。

Everyday English outside climbing and ships rarely needs it, so if you meet it in a story, check which world you are in. It has nothing to do with being late.

Everyday English outside climbing and ships在攀岩和航海之外的日常英文 rarely needs it很少用到這個詞，so if you meet it in a story所以如果你在故事裡遇到它，check which world you are in要看看自己是在哪個世界裡。It has nothing to do with being late這個詞跟「遲到」一點關係都沒有。