[mawr-uh-tawr-ee-uh
m, -tohr-, mor-] 
[-tawr-ee-uh, -tohr-] , -to⋅ri⋅ums. | 1. | a suspension of activity: a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons. |
| 2. | a legally authorized period to delay payment of money due or the performance of some other legal obligation, as in an emergency. |
| 3. | an authorized period of delay or waiting. |
| mor·a·to·ri·um (môr'ə-tôr'ē-əm, -tōr'-, mŏr'-) n. pl. mor·a·to·ri·ums or mor·a·to·ri·a (-tôr'ē-ə, -tōr'-)
[From Late Latin morātōrium, neuter of morātōrius, delaying; see moratory.] |
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).
Moratorium
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 Commentary
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.
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See also: Conventional Mortgage, Debt Service, Home-Equity Loan, Mortgage, Mortgage-Backed Securities - MBS, Private Mortgage Insurance - PMI
