moratorium

American  

[mawr-uh-tawr-ee-uhm, -tohr-, mor-] / ˌmɔr əˈtɔr i əm, -ˈtoʊr-, ˌmɒr- /

noun

• moratoria,
  plural
• moratoriums
  plural

1. a suspension of activity.

   a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons.

2. a legally authorized period to delay payment of money due or the performance of some other legal obligation, as in an emergency.

3. an authorized period of delay or waiting.

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moratorium British  

/ -trɪ, ˈmɒrətərɪ, ˌmɒrəˈtɔːrɪəm /

noun

1. a legally authorized postponement of the fulfilment of an obligation

2. an agreed suspension of activity

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moratorium Cultural  

1. A period of delay agreed to by parties to a dispute or parties who are negotiating. A moratorium may also be an authorized delay in the repayment of a loan, especially by a nation (as in a moratorium on war debts).

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Usage

What does moratorium mean? A moratorium is most commonly an official suspension or delay of some activity. Moratorium often specifically refers to the postponement of the requirement to make some kind of payment, such as rent. Such moratoriums are often enacted during emergencies or other unusual circumstances in order to provide relief to people who have lost their usual source of income. Another kind of moratorium is imposed by governments or international bodies on particular activities, such as nuclear testing or offshore drilling. Moratoriums are often temporary. They can be scheduled to end after a specified period of time, or they can be indefinite, meaning the end date will be decided later. Moratorium is also used casually (often as part of a joke) to mean an informal ban on something that you want to stop, as in I think it’s time to put a moratorium on watching TV for a while, kids. The correct plural of moratorium can be either moratoriums or moratoria. Technically speaking, moratoria is the Latin-based plural form of moratorium. (Many other Latin-derived words can be pluralized in the same way, but many are rarely used, such as stadia as the plural for stadium.)Example: Due to the pandemic, some local governments have placed a moratorium on utility payments since so many people are out of work and won’t be able to pay their bills.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• moratory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• moratoria
  plural
• moratoriums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of moratorium

1870–75; < New Latin, Late Latin morātōrium, noun use of neuter of morātōrius moratory

Explanation

A moratorium is the suspension of a particular activity — you could have a moratorium on fishing, baking, the use of candles, or the wearing of matching socks. Generally, moratoriums go into effect when something becomes seen as being not okay for now, but might go back to being okay later. After the water fountain started to burble up green sludge, the principal put a moratorium on drinking any water at school until the fountains were fixed and the water tested.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

moratorium moratoria moratoriums

Tuesday's vote in parliament follows more than two decades of a de facto moratorium on executions.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

That clash of both public and governmental priorities meant that the final two-year moratorium came with some inconvenient carveouts.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

In May, CMS set a six-month national moratorium on hospice-provider enrollment in Medicare.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Indonesia has some of the world's toughest anti-drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers, but has maintained a moratorium on executions for several years.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

That would create difficulty for Stassen, for international pressure to suspend tests was growing—indeed, the Soviets had proposed a test moratorium in May, just as Stassen’s task forces were coming together.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Perhaps more concerning for the industry, though, a spread of moratoria could add a constraint to an already scarce market for data-center sites that have adequate access to power, water and other resources.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Montebello, El Monte and Baldwin Park have all enacted temporary moratoria, and Alhambra recently banned data centers as part of a zoning code update.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

These could include eviction moratoria, limiting late fees on rent payments, increasing access to emergency rental assistance, and freezing rent increases.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 14, 2023

And Maryland offers another stark reminder of the sometimes transient quality of death penalty moratoria.

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2021

Thirdly: The most botched subject can secure from his prince letters of respite or moratoria; but who shall give them to the prince, unless he does it to himself?

From The Invisible Lodge by Jean Paul

Among them are the US and China, which have both established voluntary moratoriums against explosive nuclear testing.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that same day asking him to “investigate” any counties seeking to implement moratoriums and “explore any necessary legal actions.”

From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026

In recent years, more than a half-dozen area cities have established moratoriums as they consider the environmental impacts and the health of residents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026

Some towns have imposed temporary moratoriums on data centers, but the projects could still go forward in the future.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026

"All praise to the power of the war-time moratoriums," Farrel declared.

From The Pride of Palomar by Peter B. (Peter Bernard) Kyne

Related Words

• ban
• delay
• freeze
• halt
• pause
• postponement
• reprieve
• truce