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
They said they called 4Com to cancel within 14 days, but were told there was no cooling-off period and they could not cancel because they had signed the agreement.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2025
You will remember that I did not write my letter immediately after the publication of the first Heaviside Layer story, but waited until the appearance of the second, a "cooling-off" period of three months.
From Astounding Stories, May, 1931 by Various
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.
