Pending

//ˈpɛndɪŋ// adj, prep, verb

adj, prep, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of pend form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
  1. 1
    Awaiting a conclusion or a confirmation. not-comparable
  2. 2
    Begun but not completed. not-comparable
  3. 3
    About to happen; imminent or impending. not-comparable
Adjective
  1. 1
    awaiting conclusion or confirmation wordnet
Preposition
  1. 1
    While waiting for something; until.

    "Pending the outcome of the investigation, the police officer is suspended from duty."

  2. 2
    During.

    "Pending the investigation, the police officer is suspended from duty."

Synonyms

All synonyms
unfinishedaround the cornerat issueawaitingbeetlebeetle browed

Example

More examples

"We postponed our picnic pending a change in the weather."

Related phrases

long-pending

More for "pending"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.