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

The companies said the plaintiffs hadn’t shown that mental health harms were caused by social media and that some of the claims, which stretch back to when the plaintiffs first started using social media, should be barred outright by California’s statute of limitations. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025

The indictment was returned less than a week before a five-year statute of limitations was set to expire. —Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2025

That’s what the hackerama does if somebody knows where the bodies are buried, and the statute of limitations is still running. —Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025

Identifying when the clock starts, pauses, or ends is crucial because if the homeowner files a claim for compensation outside the statute of limitations, it can be barred. —Sponsored Content, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 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