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Pending meaning: what that payment or request status says

Pending means waiting: it's the label on a payment, an application, a friend request. Not a yes, not a no yet. And in pending confirmation, the word suddenly becomes a preposition.

Pending means waiting, in progress, not yet decided. Your registration is still pending: it's under review. A pending payment is still being processed. Before a noun, pending works as a preposition meaning 'until' or 'while waiting for': The room remains closed pending a safety check.

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be pending / pending + decision, confirmation or review

  • Your registration is still pending.
  • The room remains closed pending a safety check.
  • We have three pending requests to review this afternoon.

What changed

First versionThe booking is pending for confirmation.

RevisionThe booking is pending confirmation.

Waiting for confirmation is the familiar pattern, so for slips in: pending for confirmation. But pending already means 'waiting for', and it needs no preposition: pending confirmation.

Cambridge Dictionary

Approved means yes, rejected means no, pending means there's no decision yet. On hold means paused, deliberately put aside: The project is on hold. Pending is just the normal queue: The request is pending.

Your turn

The room will stay closed ___ a safety check.

(pending / waiting)

Show the answer

pending — Before a safety check you need 'until' or 'while waiting for', which is pending. Waiting doesn't work without for, and with for it would sound as if the room itself were waiting.

Tell a friend that your visa, internship or refund application hasn't been decided yet. Use pending.

My visa application is still pending, so I can't book the flights yet.

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