What is the role of the `by lazy` delegation in Kotlin?

The by lazy delegation in Kotlin is specifically designed to delay the initialization of a property until the first time it is accessed. This is particularly useful for optimizing resource usage and improving performance, as it avoids unnecessary computations or resource allocations if the property is never used.

When a property is declared with by lazy, Kotlin wraps the initialization logic in a lazy delegate, which checks whether the property has been accessed before. If it has not, Kotlin executes the initialization code at that moment and stores the result; any subsequent accesses will return the already computed value. This behavior is beneficial in situations where the initialization is expensive or time-consuming, ensuring that resources are only allocated when absolutely necessary.

The other choices, while related to property handling, do not accurately describe the function of by lazy. This functionality does not involve creating threads for initialization, initializing properties at the time of class instantiation, or directly preventing memory leaks, although proper use of lazy initialization can contribute to better memory management indirectly.