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.
Pending home sales, a data point that measures homes that go under contract well before the sale closes, perked up in April, rising 3.2% from the year prior, according to the National Association of Realtors.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Pending any departures he would join Youssef Chermiti, Ryan Naderi, Bojan Miovski and Danilo as Danny Rohl's options up front.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
Pending sales are still at their second-highest level since September 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Pending regulatory approval, the product should be going live later this year, CME Group said in a statement.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
Pending a few breaks and no serious setbacks, that might be just enough.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
