waiting time / waiting period
Loading your saved state.
waiting time
The period of time you have to wait until something happens, someone arrives, or you receive a service.
Die durchschnittliche Wartezeit in der Notaufnahme beträgt mehrere Stunden.
The average waiting time in the emergency room is several hours.
waiting period
A contractually or legally defined period that must pass before a claim, for example for an insurance benefit, becomes valid.
Bei dieser Zahnzusatzversicherung gibt es eine Wartezeit von acht Monaten.
With this supplemental dental insurance, there is a waiting period of eight months.
The word is a simple compound made from the stem of the verb 'warten' (to wait) and the noun 'Zeit' (time). So it literally refers to the time that one waits.
Ich nutze die Wartezeit beim Arzt immer, um E-Mails zu beantworten.
I always use the waiting time at the doctor's office to answer emails.
In everyday life, people often speak of a 'lange' (long) or 'kurze' (short) Wartezeit (waiting time). You can 'eine Wartezeit in Kauf nehmen' (accept a waiting time) or try to 'verkürzen' (shorten) or 'überbrücken' (bridge/pass) it.
Um die lange Wartezeit zu überbrücken, las er ein Buch.
To pass the long waiting time, he read a book.
Typical sentence patterns are 'Die Wartezeit beträgt ...' (The waiting time is ...) or 'Man muss mit einer Wartezeit von ... rechnen' (You should expect a waiting time of ...). The preposition 'auf' (+ accusative) is also often used to say what you are waiting for.
Die Wartezeit auf einen Termin beim Facharzt kann mehrere Monate betragen.
The waiting time for an appointment with a specialist can be several months.
This meaning is specific to formal and legal contexts such as insurance policies, employment contracts, or memberships. Here, the 'Wartezeit' (waiting period) is a fixed period before certain rights or benefits become active.
Nach Vertragsabschluss gilt eine dreimonatige Wartezeit.
After the contract is signed, a three-month waiting period applies.
meantime
Both words can refer to the time between an application and a decision. “Die Zwischenzeit” describes only the time gap between two events, while “die Wartezeit” emphasizes the affected person's waiting. Use Wartezeit when someone is waiting for a result or a service.
Die Wartezeit auf die Entscheidung dauerte wegen vieler Anträge mehrere Wochen.
The waiting time for the decision lasted several weeks because of the large number of applications.
In der Zwischenzeit zwischen Antrag und Entscheidung sammelte sie alle nötigen Unterlagen.
In the meantime, between submitting her application and receiving a decision, she gathered all the necessary documents.
