(~s, reprieving ~d)
1.
If someone who has been sentenced in a court is ~d, their punishment is officially delayed or cancelled.
Fourteen people, waiting to be hanged for the murder of a former prime minister, have been ~d.
VERB: usu passive, no cont, be V-ed
•
Reprieve is also a noun
A man awaiting death by lethal injection has been saved by a last minute ~.
N-VAR
2.
A ~ is a delay before a very unpleasant or difficult situation which may or may not take place.
It looked as though the college would have to shut, but this week it was given a ~.
N-COUNT: usu sing