grace period

noun

: a period of time beyond a due date during which a financial obligation may be met without penalty or cancellation

Examples of grace period in a Sentence

The terms of the loan allow for a ten-day grace period.

Recent Examples on the Web

For Dan Hurley’s Huskies, the grace period has expired. —Shahrzad Rasekh, Hartford Courant, 20 Jan. 2025

As impacted homeowners work through recovery efforts, several major financial institutions will offer a 90-day grace period on mortgage payments, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Saturday. —Dalia Faheid, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025

For his part, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Saturday that five major lenders would offer a 90-day grace period on mortgage payments for victims of the fires. —Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025

With board approval, schools will have a three-week grace period before full implementation by Feb. 3. —Taylor O’Connor, Kansas City Star, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

grace period

noun

grace pe·​ri·​od

: a period of time beyond a scheduled date during which a required action (as payment of an obligation) may be taken without incurring the ordinarily resulting adverse consequences (as penalty or cancellation): as

a

: a period of 30 days or one month during which premiums on insurance policies may be paid without penalty

b

: a period of ten days during which certain security interests (as those in fixtures) must be perfected in order to have priority over conflicting security interests under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code

called also days of grace