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

People who received such notices and paid penalties before February 2022 are not part of the lawsuit and apparently have no legal recourse because of a statute of limitations on their claims. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026

At the time, authorities were still determining if van der Sloot could be prosecuted for Natalee's murder, as the statute of limitations in Aruba is 12 years. —Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 30 May 2026

In 2015, he was arrested days before the 12-year statute of limitations was set to expire over a 2004 incident where he was accused of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia estate. —Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 29 May 2026

Yet, the courts sided with the Buddhist center, noting that Congress funded the project in 2022 and didn’t make a final decision to proceed with the project until 2023, extending the statute of limitations. —Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026

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