According to Genesis, Noah waited seven days before sending the dove from the Ark again.
Genesis 8 describes three stages in Noah’s use of the dove. First, he sent it out and it returned because it found no place to rest. After waiting another seven days, he sent it again, and it returned with an olive leaf. Noah waited seven more days and sent it a third time; the dove did not return.
The repeated seven-day intervals provide a clear rhythm within the account of the receding waters. The second flight supplies the famous olive-leaf sign, while the third flight suggests that the bird could remain outside because the land was becoming habitable.
This detail is often shortened in retellings, which may mention only the dove and olive leaf. Genesis, however, records a sequence of releases and explicitly gives the seven-day waiting period before the later flights. The answer refers to the interval, not the total time spent aboard the ark.