pending
Americanpreposition
-
while awaiting; until.
pending his return.
-
in the period before the decision or conclusion of; during.
pending the negotiations.
adjective
-
remaining undecided; awaiting decision or settlement; unfinished.
pending business; pending questions; pending litigation.
-
about to take place; impending.
preposition
adjective
-
not yet decided, confirmed, or finished
what are the matters pending?
-
imminent
these developments have been pending for some time
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pending
1635–45; pend + -ing 2, on the model of French pendant ( see pendent)
Explanation
If something is supposed to happen but hasn’t happened yet, it is pending, like the pending snowstorm that has everyone scrambling to the store for bread and milk. The word pending comes from the French pendant, meaning “hanging.” If someone leaves you hanging, you are waiting for a call, a message, a visit — whatever the thing is that's supposed to happen. Pending is a good word to use when something has to happen before something else — like if you are learning to drive, maybe you'll have a car of your own soon, pending your success at passing the test.
Vocabulary lists containing pending
The Westing Game
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A Lesson Before Dying
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The Atlantic Charter - Churchill/Roosevelt (1941)
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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.
In 2024, while the ban was pending, USC said it would “comply with state law” if it were signed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
At Eugene Henaff, one-third of meals served fall into the lowest-income bracket, with families paying 20 or 50 cents and the Ile-de-France region covering the rest, the region said, noting that no subsidies were pending.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Disclosures: S.C. holds patents or pending patents on PD-L2 at Mayo Clinic and Spanish National Cancer Research Center, some of which have been licensed to Rejuveron Senescence Therapeutics.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
At least some still have pending immigration cases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
On the other hand, I didn't think media attention would help win the case now pending in the Court of Criminal Appeals.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
