waiting period
Americannoun
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a specified delay, required by law, between officially stating an intention and acting on it, as between securing a marriage license and getting married.
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Insurance. the required delay between the date of inception of a claim and the date on which the indemnity becomes payable, as in workmen's compensation insurance or unemployment insurance.
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.
The union is expected to be certified after a 30-day waiting period, as long as no other qualifying organization emerges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
In 2018, he issued his most famous scolding, decrying the court’s failure to take up California’s 10-day waiting period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Restricted stock units, or RSUs, are granted shares of company stock that officially belong to you only after a set waiting period, known as a vesting schedule.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
But Catherine says introducing a mandatory waiting period would be pointless as the wait times for a driving test are already so long.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2026
We'd filed to get a green card through my uncle in 1985, and after a thirteen-year waiting period, my sister was about to get kicked off our application.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
