wait Hear it!

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wait definition

wait (wāt)

intransitive verb

  1. to stay in a place or remain in readiness or in anticipation (until something expected happens or for someone to arrive or catch up)
  2. to be ready or at hand dinner was waiting for them
  3. to remain temporarily undone or neglected let that job wait
  4. to serve food at a meal: with at or on to wait at table, to wait on a person

Etymology: ME waiten < NormFr waitier < Frank *wahten, to guard, akin to OHG wahta, a guard, watch: for IE base see wake

transitive verb

  1. to be, remain, or delay in expectation or anticipation of; await to wait orders, to wait one's turn
  2. Informal to delay serving (a meal) as in waiting for someone to wait dinner
  3. Obsolete to attend upon or escort, esp. as a token of respect or honor
  4. Obsolete to attend as a consequence

noun

  1. the act or fact of waiting
  2. a period of waiting a four-hour wait
  3. in England,
    1. any of a group of singers and musicians who go through the streets at Christmastime performing songs and carols for small gifts of money
    2. any tune so performed
  4. Obsolete a member of a band of musicians formerly employed by a city or town in England to play at entertainments
  5. Obsolete a watchman
wait Idioms

lie in wait (for)

to wait so as to catch after planning an ambush or trap (for)

wait on

or wait upon
  1. to act as a servant to
  2. to call on or visit (esp. a superior) in order to pay one's respects, ask a favor, etc.
  3. to result from; be a consequence of
  4. to supply the needs or requirements of (a person at table, a customer in a store, etc.), as a waiter, clerk, etc.
  5. Informal, Dialectal to wait for; await

wait out

to remain inactive during the course of

wait table

to serve food as a waiter or servant to people at a table

wait up

  1. to put off going to bed until someone expected arrives or something expected happens
  2. Informal to stop and wait for someone to catch up

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
wait Synonyms

wait

n.

halt, interim, time wasted; see delay 1, pause 1, 2.


wait

v.

  1. To await

    expect, anticipate, tarry, pause, wait for, look for, delay for, watch for, pray for, abide, dally, remain, idle, bide one's time, mark time, fill time, wait up for, sit up for, stay up for, lie in wait for, ambush, lie low*, hole up*, hang around*, stick around*, cool one's heels*.

    Antonyms leave*, hurry*, act. *

  2. To attend at table

    serve, deliver, tend, act as waiter, act as waitress, arrange, set, ready, place on the table, help, portion, bus dishes.

  3. To be left

    have left, be on the agenda, have to do; see remain 3.

wait suggests remaining in place in anticipation of something wait for me at the library; stay, a more general term, implies a continuing in a specified place stay there until you hear from me; remain specifically suggests a staying behind while others go he alone remained at home; abide, now somewhat archaic, implies a staying fixed for a relatively long period, as in a settled residence he came for a visit and has been abiding here since; tarry and linger imply a staying on after the required or expected time for departure, linger esp. implying that this is deliberate, as from reluctance to leave we tarried in town two days, he lingered at his sweetheart's door


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

wait Usage Examples

Object

  • list: Are you on the waiting list for an NHS hearing aid?

Preposition: on

  • trolley: Patients waiting on trolleys more than 12 hours... .

Noun used with modifier

  • cant: For heavens sake, we cant wait that long!

Adjective modifier

  • long: Outside I maintained my vigil, expecting a long wait for the first arrivals.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • around: No more waiting around for a support desk to process your instructions.

Infinitive complement

  • hear: I can't wait to hear the next joke.

Preposition: in

  • wing: It bodes well for the long list of China IPOs waiting in the wings.

Preposition: for

  • bus: Picture, if you will, a queue of Afghan women waiting for a bus.
wait usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

wait quotes

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lshall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

-Bible (Old Testament)

I just invent, then wait until man comes around to needing what I've invented.

-Fuller, R(ichard) Buckminster

Re"  ver, c'est le bonheur; attendre, c'est la vie. To dream is happiness; to wait is life.

-Hugo,Victor Marie

wait quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"wait." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/wait>

APA Style

wait. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/wait

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