Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A lawful suspension of the payment of certain debts during a period of financial or civil distress.
- noun The period during which such a suspension occurs.
- noun A suspension of an ongoing or planned activity.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In law, legal title to delay in making a due payment: as a legislative authorization of suspension of payment by a government bank.
- noun In law, legal title to delay in making a due payment: as a legislative authorization of suspension of payment by a government bank.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Law) A period during which an obligor has a legal right to delay meeting an obligation, esp. such a period granted, as to a bank, by a moratory law.
- noun a suspension of an activity.
- noun an officially authorized period of delay or waiting.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a legally authorized postponement before some obligation must be discharged
- noun suspension of an ongoing activity
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Rather, the idea behind such a moratorium is a simple one: one does not send in the crime scene investigators while the fire is in progress -- one sends in the fire department.
Ray Brescia: Strong Medicine: The Long-Term Health of the Housing Market Requires a National Foreclosure Moratorium Ray Brescia 2010
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Greenbury says the moratorium is a welcome breather in an industry that has moved very fast for 30 years.
Businesses Warm to Indonesia's Moratorium on Forest Clearing 2010
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Rather, the idea behind such a moratorium is a simple one: one does not send in the crime scene investigators while the fire is in progress -- one sends in the fire department.
Ray Brescia: Strong Medicine: The Long-Term Health of the Housing Market Requires a National Foreclosure Moratorium Ray Brescia 2010
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Greenbury says the moratorium is a welcome breather in an industry that has moved very fast for 30 years.
Businesses Warm to Indonesia's Moratorium on Forest Clearing 2010
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Just consider Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's recent tirade in which he called the moratorium an "economic calamity" that has jeopardized thousands of jobs.
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Council members said the moratorium is a way to generate dialogue on violence in Los Angeles neighborhoods.
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For his part, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has grown increasingly assertive that he will walk away from the table with the endorsement of the Arab League if the "moratorium" is not extended by October 6.
Josh Ruebner: Obama's Misplaced Missive Josh Ruebner 2010
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For his part, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has grown increasingly assertive that he will walk away from the table with the endorsement of the Arab League if the "moratorium" is not extended by October 6.
Josh Ruebner: Obama's Misplaced Missive Josh Ruebner 2010
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Oil and gas executives are steeling for a slower and more costly permitting process that could hinder drilling even after the moratorium is lifted.
As offshore drilling moratorium nears an end, questions about what's next Juliet Eilperin 2010
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Barak, who returned Sunday from meetings in New York with U.S. officials, told the BBC in an interview that "the chance of achieving a mutually agreed understanding about a moratorium is 50-50."
Israeli building ban ends Joel Greenberg 2010
jwjarvis commented on the word moratorium
ETC Group, a group based in Canada, called for a global moratorium on synthetic biology
May 25, 2010