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 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
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
These include requiring a seven-day waiting period and a psychiatric exam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
We found out that only a few days before, the state law had been changed, and now Indiana had a long waiting period.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
