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

So it’s not especially surprising that Governor Kathy Hochul is opting out of adding to all of that and announcing a moratorium on building new data centers in the state.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

The moratorium would give the state time to create regulations for data centers that can help the environment and energy grid.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Owens would help the Mount Orab Village Council impose a moratorium on data centers in late March that would pause the project for six months.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

New York state's legislature last month passed a one-year moratorium on data center construction.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

Abolitionists were becoming hopeful that more profound death penalty reform or possibly a moratorium might be achievable.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

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

"Similar eviction moratoria after a climate-related disaster, potentially as part of federal recovery aid and efforts, could provide valuable protection to renters in affected communities," says He.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 14, 2023

Europe’s Single Resolution Board has enforced a payment moratoria at the three banks and will now assess whether it was in the public interest to save the lenders.

From Reuters ● Feb. 28, 2022

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

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

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others -- California, Oregon and Pennsylvania -- have moratoriums in place.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025

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

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

Related Words

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