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 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
If I do change to transfer-on-death, is there a lookback or waiting period as far as the Internal Revenue Service is concerned?
From MarketWatch • Jan. 15, 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
Ministers' decision to move to a six-month waiting period followed talks with business groups and unions.
From BBC • Nov. 27, 2025
When the waiting period was up, they tried again.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
