n., pl. -to·ri·ums or -to·ri·a (-tôr'ē-ə, -tōr'-).

1. Law.
   1. An authorization to a debtor, such as a bank or nation, permitting temporary suspension of payments.
   2. An authorized period of delay in the performance of an obligation.
2. A suspension of an ongoing or planned activity: a moratorium on the deployment of a new weapon.

[From Late Latin morātōrium, neuter of morātōrius, delaying. See moratory.]

1) A period of time in which there is a suspension of a specific activity until future events warrant a removal of the suspension or issues regarding the activity have been resolved.

2) In bankruptcy law, a legally binding halt of the right to collect debt.

Investopedia Says:
1) For example, if a company is going through rough times it might have a moratorium on advertising spending. In other words, to cut costs, it won't spend any money on advertising.

2) Such action may be imposed by a government, or taken voluntarily by a private business, usually in times of economic crisis such as an earthquake or flood, in order to provide people with time to stabilize their finances before dealing with potential problems such as a mortgage default and foreclosure.

Related Links:
Listed securities are 'the cream of the crop'. Find out how a firm can lose that status and why you should be wary. The Dirt On Delisting
Answering this means number-crunching as well as factoring in other considerations and expenses. Mortgages: How Much Can You Afford?
We walk through the steps needed to secure the best loan to finance the purchase of your home. Understanding Your Mortgage
Learn how the various reasons for doing it can mean the difference between financial prudence and ruin. Mortgages: The ABCs Of Refinancing

1. Condition when a borrower declares inability to repay some or all of an outstanding debt, or ceases paying the debt service-interest-on a loan. If declared by a sovereign borrower, it generally leads to rescheduling of the loan with a longer term. See also Sovereign Risk.

2. Legal moratorium on a proposed activity, for example the one-year moratorium in the Competitive Equality Banking Act of 1987 on securities underwriting by bank holding company affiliates.

A time period during which a certain activity is not allowed.
Example: Fair City passes an Ordinance that establishes a 6-month moratorium on condominium Conversions. During the period, no one may legally convert an apartment complex into Condominium units.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A suspension of activity or an authorized period of delay or waiting. A moratorium is sometimes agreed upon by the interested parties, or it may be authorized or imposed by operation of law. The term also is used to denote a period of time during which the law authorizes a delay in payment of debts or performance of some other legal obligation. This type of moratorium is most often invoked during times of distress, such as war or natural disaster.

Government bodies may declare moratoria for a broad range of reasons. For example, a local government may attempt to regulate property development by imposing a moratorium on the issuance of building permits. The legality of such a moratorium is generally determined by measuring its impact on the affected parties. In 1987 the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain moratoria on property development may be unconstitutional takings, thus making it more difficult for local governments to slow development in their communities (First English Evangelical Lutheran Church v. Los Angeles County, 482 U.S. 304, 107 S. Ct. 2378, 96 L. Ed. 2d 250). On the other hand, in 1995 the Court upheld a thirty-day moratorium on lawyer advertising that was challenged as an infringement of First Amendment rights (Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc., 515 U.S. 618, 115 S. Ct. 2371, 132 L. Ed. 2d 541).

Many state legislatures have passed moratorium legislation in response to popular demand for debt relief during emergencies. The constitutionality of these statutes is determined using a two-pronged analysis. First, the courts consider the effect of the moratorium on the rights of the parties to the impaired contract. If the moratorium changes only the remedy for breach and not the terms of the contract, it is generally upheld (see Sturges v. Crowninshield, 17 U.S. [4 Wheat.] 122, 4 L. Ed. 529 [1819]). Second, if the moratorium is a response to a bona fide emergency, it is upheld (see Johnson v. Duncan, 3 Mart. 530 [La. 1815], upholding a moratorium passed when the British invaded Louisiana in 1814).

As a function of its police power, a state may suspend contractual rights when public welfare, health, or safety are threatened. However, this police power is limited by standards of reasonableness. During the World War I housing shortage, some New York landlords raised rents to exorbitant levels and evicted tenants who failed to pay. In response to what it perceived as a public health and safety emergency, the state legislature passed a law that limited rentals to reasonable amounts, gave courts authority to determine reasonableness, and prohibited landlords from evicting tenants willing to pay reasonable rents. The law was sustained by the U.S. Supreme Court in Marcus Brown Holding Co. v. Feldman, 256 U.S. 170, 41 S. Ct. 465, 65 L. Ed. 877 (1921).

An example of a contemporary debt moratorium is the Minnesota Mortgage Moratorium Act (1933 Minn. Laws 514), passed by the Minnesota legislature in response to a sharp rise in foreclosures on mortgaged farm property. The constitutionality of the act was challenged in Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell, 290 U.S. 398, 54 S. Ct. 231, 78 L. Ed. 413 (1934), in which the Supreme Court upheld the legislation based on five criteria: a bona fide emergency existed; the statute addressed a legitimate societal interest; debt relief was granted only under limited conditions; contractual rights were reasonably protected; and the legislation was of limited duration. This act was extended until 1942. Fifty years later the Minnesota legislature responded again to public pressure to relieve farm debts by passing another Mortgage Moratorium Act (Minn. Stat. § 583.03 [Supp. 1983]).

(mawr-uh-tawr-ee-uhm)

A period of delay agreed to by parties to a dispute or parties who are negotiating. A moratorium may also be an authorized delay in the repayment of a loan, especially by a nation (as in a moratorium on war debts).

IN BRIEF: A suspension of an ongoing or planned activity.

A moratorium on driving in the city was called when the air was declared unhealthy.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - moratorium (midlertidigt forbud/ophævelse/standsning), [jur.] frist, henstand, udsættelse af arbejde

Nederlands (Dutch)
moratorium

Français (French)
n. - moratoire, moratorium

Deutsch (German)
n. - Moratorium

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - χρεοστάσιο, αναστολή δραστηριοτήτων

Italiano (Italian)
moratoria

Português (Portuguese)
n. - moratória (f) (Jur.)

Русский (Russian)
мораторий

Español (Spanish)
n. - moratoria

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - betalningsanstånd

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
延期偿付, 延期偿付期间

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 延期償付, 延期償付期間

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 지불 유예, 금지령

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 支払い猶予令, モラトリアム, 支払い猶予期間, 一時停止, 支払猶予, 支払猶予期間

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قرار رسمي بتأجيل دفع الديون‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮השעייה זמנית (של פעילות), הרשאה חוקית לבעלי-חוב לדחות את תשלומו, תקופת דחיית התשלום, ארכה, מורטוריום‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.