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.
This waiting period, known as “seasoning,” allows volatility surrounding a company’s IPO to fade and gives the market time to find a reasonable price.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
A postage stamp-sized implant eliminates a dangerous waiting period that has long worsened outcomes for cancer patients.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
The Finland-born 26-year-old married Mitrofanov, a Wisconsin native, in 2024, but the waiting period for citizenship after marriage is at least three years.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 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.
