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 forturne 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 Carter is now being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center on a $400,000 bond awaiting trial. — Cameron Knight, Cincinnati.com, "After more than a dozen dismissed charges, man arrested in string of armed robberies," 5 Dec. 2019 All six physicians have pleaded not guilty and are out on bond awaiting trial. — Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, "6 indicted doctors in opioid case just got sued: They got 'rich on pain'," 4 Dec. 2019 Loughlin and Giannulli have maintained their innocence and are awaiting trial. — Lexy Perez, The Hollywood Reporter, "Lori Loughlin's Daughter Makes Return to YouTube After College Bribery Scandal," 1 Dec. 2019 Three other men accused of triggering the blast that killed Caruana Galizia have been awaiting trial since their arrests in December 2017. — Fox News, "Malta PM’s chief of staff quits after being questioned in murder probe of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia," 26 Nov. 2019 Court records indicate that Aguilar and Herrera are out on bail and are awaiting trial. — Elizabeth Zavala, ExpressNews.com, "Witness remembers seeing gun in botched drug deal that left San Antonio man dead," 18 Nov. 2019 Inmates awaiting trial spend weeks and sometimes months in solitary, according to state and county records. — Jason Pohl, ProPublica, "A Jail Increased Extreme Isolation to Stop Suicides. More People Killed Themselves.," 5 Nov. 2019 Employees have been working in USDA office space in Kansas City awaiting a final decision. — Marc Heller, Science | AAAS, "USDA decides to move two research agencies to Missouri, but many employees won’t go," 1 Nov. 2019 Rikers, like most jails in America, holds people awaiting trial or serving short sentences. — The Economist, "Rikers, one of America’s most notorious jails, is to close," 26 Oct. 2019

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

8 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Await.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awaiting. Accessed 13 December 2019.

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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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