waiting period

American  

noun

1. a specified delay, required by law, between officially stating an intention and acting on it, as between securing a marriage license and getting married.

2. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

waiting period

The trade-offs are more modest payments — typically between $5,000 and $25,000 with $50-plus monthly premiums — and a waiting period of about 2 to 3 years before the full benefit kicks in.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026

The traditional waiting period is intended to give the companies time to demonstrate that they are stable and liquid enough to handle extensive buying from index funds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

Because of its size, the Compass-Anywhere deal is subject to an antitrust review waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 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

But it was obvious that the waiting period would have to be extended in those cases where an animal’s intelligence had been increased two or three times.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes