We had been waiting ____ nearly an hour when the bell rang.

We had been waiting ____ nearly an hour when the bell rang.

Explanation

"For" is used with a duration of time (e.g., for an hour, for two days).

"Since" is used for a specific point in time (e.g., since morning, since 2 PM).

Here, "nearly an hour" is a duration, so "for" is the correct choice.