cooling-off period
Americannoun
noun
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a period during which the contending sides to a dispute reconsider their options before taking further action
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a statutory period, often 14 days, that begins when a sale contract or life-assurance policy is received by a member of the public, during which the contract or policy can be cancelled without loss
Etymology
Origin of cooling-off period
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cerebras went public over a decade after its founding, catching a second wind of market enthusiasm for AI after a cooling-off period earlier this year.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Depending on the answer, it might be time for a cooling-off period.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
After four of them, there was a brief pause, or a cooling-off period with little movement, before the index, and the broader stock market, made a higher high.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 8, 2025
After a cooling-off period, the two bumped into each other again and found, to their surprise and delight, that they shared a love of verbal sparring via lacerating, relentless wit.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2024
The heating-up and cooling-off period of time are therefore not included.
From Every Step in Canning by Gray, Grace Viall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
