await

\ ə-ˈwāt

How to pronounce await (audio)

\

awaited; awaiting; awaits

Definition of await

transitive verb

1a : to wait for We are awaiting his arrival. await a decision

b : to remain in abeyance until a treaty awaiting ratification

2 : to be in store for He wonders what awaits him next.

3 obsolete : to lie in wait for

intransitive verb

1 : to stay or be in waiting : wait The nation awaited as Congress debated the issue.

2 : to be in store … marched … north to civilization where fame and fortune awaited.— Tom Marvel

3 obsolete : attend

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about await

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Examples of await in a Sentence

A crowd of people awaited the train. We're eagerly awaiting his arrival. He was arrested and is now in prison awaiting trial. Her long-awaited new novel is finally being published. The same fate awaits us all.

Recent Examples on the Web So when Taylor was linked to the December escape of former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn from Japan, where the executive awaited trial on financial misconduct charges, some in U.S. military and legal circles immediately recognized the name. — Washington Post, "AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT," 21 May 2020 Indiana also awaits Justin Smith’s final decision on whether to stay in the NBA draft or return for his final season of college. — Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, "Khristian Lander makes it official, gives IU basketball significant boost for 2020," 18 May 2020 Dreams and terrors await, and then a turn for home. — James Parker, The Atlantic, "‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,’ Rebooted," 13 May 2020 A million-dollar math prize awaits anyone who can solve the type of equation used in QCD to show how massive entities like protons form. — Quanta Magazine, "What Goes On in a Proton? Quark Math Still Conflicts With Experiments.," 6 May 2020 His fans have been anxiously awaiting to here more from him ever since. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "‘American Idol’ Contestant Dillon James on Overcoming His Struggles With Addiction," 19 Apr. 2020 Astronomers have been anxiously awaiting the first signs of an interstellar interloper for the better part of a decade, but it wasn’t supposed to look anything like 'Oumuamua. — Charlie Wood, Popular Science, "A new ’Oumuamua theory could mean many more interstellar visitors are headed our way," 14 Apr. 2020 Thompson awaited her test results over the next nine days. — Angie Jackson, Freep.com, "Warren mom with coronavirus had to give birth in isolation without her husband," 5 Apr. 2020 Mohammad Mosaed awaits a court date, after intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested and interrogated him in February regarding social media accounts critical of government. — Wired Staff, Wired, "One Free Press Coalition Spotlights Journalists Under Attack," 1 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'await.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

25 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Await.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/await. Accessed 2 Jun. 2020.

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More Definitions for await

await

verb

English Language Learners Definition of await

: to wait for (someone or something)

: to be ready or waiting for (someone or something)

See the full definition for await in the English Language Learners Dictionary

await

\ ə-ˈwāt

\

awaited; awaiting

Kids Definition of await

1 : to wait for await a train

2 : to be ready or waiting for Dinner was awaiting them on their arrival.

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