Try it

animation-delay: 250ms;

animation-delay: 2s;

animation-delay: -2s;

<section class="flex-column" id="default-example">
  <div>Animation <span id="play-status"></span></div>
  <div id="example-element">Select a delay to start!</div>
</section>

#example-element {
  background-color: #1766aa;
  color: white;
  margin: auto;
  margin-left: 0;
  border: 5px solid #333333;
  width: 150px;
  height: 150px;
  border-radius: 50%;
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  flex-direction: column;
}
#play-status {
  font-weight: bold;
}
.animating {
  animation-name: slide;
  animation-duration: 3s;
  animation-timing-function: ease-in;
  animation-iteration-count: 2;
  animation-direction: alternate;
}
@keyframes slide {
  from {
    background-color: orange;
    color: black;
    margin-left: 0;
  }
  to {
    background-color: orange;
    color: black;
    margin-left: 80%;
  }
}

const el = document.getElementById("example-element");
const status = document.getElementById("play-status");
function update() {
  status.textContent = "delaying";
  el.className = "";
  window.requestAnimationFrame(() => {
    window.requestAnimationFrame(() => {
      el.className = "animating";
    });
  });
}
el.addEventListener("animationstart", () => {
  status.textContent = "playing";
});
el.addEventListener("animationend", () => {
  status.textContent = "finished";
});
const observer = new MutationObserver(() => {
  update();
});
observer.observe(el, {
  attributes: true,
  attributeFilter: ["style"],
});
update();

Syntax

css

/* Single animation */
animation-delay: 3s;
animation-delay: 0s;
animation-delay: -1500ms;
/* Multiple animations */
animation-delay: 2.1s, 480ms;
/* Global values */
animation-delay: inherit;
animation-delay: initial;
animation-delay: revert;
animation-delay: revert-layer;
animation-delay: unset;

Values

This property is specified as a comma-separated list of <time> values:

<time>

The time offset, from the moment at which the animation is applied to the element, at which the animation should begin. This may be specified in either seconds (s) or milliseconds (ms). The unit is required.

A positive value indicates that the animation should begin after the specified amount of time has elapsed. A value of 0s, which is the default, indicates that the animation should begin as soon as it's applied.

A negative value causes the animation to begin immediately, but partway through its cycle. For example, if you specify -1s as the animation delay time, the animation will begin immediately but will start 1 second into the animation sequence. If you specify a negative value for the animation delay, but the starting value is implicit, the starting value is taken from the moment the animation is applied to the element.

Note: When you specify multiple comma-separated values on an animation-* property, they are applied to the animations in the order in which the animation-names appear. For situations where the number of animations and animation-* property values do not match, see Setting multiple animation property values.

Formal definition

Initial value	`0s`
Applies to	all elements, `::before` and `::after` pseudo-elements
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	Not animatable

Formal syntax

animation-delay = 
  [ <'animation-delay-start'> <'animation-delay-end'>? ]#  <animation-delay-start> = 
  <time>#
<animation-delay-end> = 
  <time [0s,∞]>#

Examples

Setting an animation delay

This animation has a delay of 2 seconds.

HTML

html

<div class="box"></div>

CSS

css

.box {
  background-color: rebeccapurple;
  border-radius: 10px;
  width: 100px;
  height: 100px;
}
.box:hover {
  animation-name: rotate;
  animation-duration: 0.7s;
  animation-delay: 2s;
}
@keyframes rotate {
  0% {
    transform: rotate(0);
  }
  100% {
    transform: rotate(360deg);
  }
}

Result

Hover over the rectangle to start the animation.

See CSS animations for examples.

Specifications

Specification
CSS Animations Level 1 # animation-delay

Browser compatibility

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This page was last modified on Jul 26, 2026 by MDN contributors.