statute of limitations

noun phrase

: a statute assigning a certain time after which rights cannot be enforced by legal action or offenses cannot be punished

Examples of statute of limitations in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Some others were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations. —John Leicester, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025

Some of these allegations would be subject to the statute of limitations; Depardieu denies all the claims made. —Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, 24 Mar. 2025

Due to the statute of limitations, Suska is not one of the five dozen women who have filed civil lawsuits against the brothers. —Julia Bonavita, Fox News, 24 Mar. 2025

Antitrust claims ordinarily have a four-year statute of limitations, so class member players would likely include those who competed since 2021, and future ones would go until the date of final judgment in the case. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 18 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for statute of limitations

• abbreviations
• abominations
• accelerations
• accommodations
• accumulations
• adjudications
• administrations
• adulterations
• affiliations
• agglomerations
• alienations
• amalgamations

Legal Definition

statute of limitations

1

a

: a statute establishing a period of time from the accrual of a cause of action (as upon the occurrence or discovery of an injury) within which a right of action must be exercised compare laches, statute of repose

b

: a criminal statute establishing the period of time within which an offense can be punished after its commission

2

: a period of time established by a statute of limitations for commencing an action or prosecution

3

: an affirmative defense that the statute of limitations has expired