await

verb

\ ə-ˈwāt

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

There’s also a crowdsourced nest egg awaiting her challenger. — David Sharp, The Seattle Times, "What is Dems’ quest to unseat Collins missing? A candidate," 28 Jan. 2019 Analysts have said there is a backlog of thousands of games industrywide—and at least several dozen for Tencent—awaiting approval. — Shan Li, WSJ, "Tencent Wins Approval For Two Titles After Gaming Freeze in China," 24 Jan. 2019 The new study, published on the ArXiv and awaiting peer review, claims the discovery of an additional four interstellar asteroids, with the possibility of discovering hundreds more in the future. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "There Could Be Hundreds of Interstellar Asteroids Lurking in Our Solar System," 3 Dec. 2018 MoEDAL’s lockerlike detectors wrap around that collision point, awaiting any magnetic monopoles that might leave the fray. — Adam Hadhazy, Discover Magazine, "Scientists Hunt for A Seeming Paradox: A Magnet With Only One Pole," 13 Nov. 2018 Speleers makes his debut in the first few minutes of the season's premiere, as a captive criminal awaiting the noose. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Outlander Actor Ed Speleers Breaks Down Tonight's Shocking Final Scene," 4 Nov. 2018 Scott Dozier is one of almost 3,000 incarcerated people awaiting execution in the United States. — Abdullah Shihipar, Teen Vogue, "Lethal Injection Drugs and the Death Penalty, Explained," 30 Oct. 2018 Mexico’s agreement to the plan delivers a big blow to many migrants who have in the past been allowed to work legally in the U.S. while awaiting the outcome of their asylum cases, a process that often takes months or even years. — Juan Montes, WSJ, "Caravan’s Stymied Passage Leaves Migrant Issue Boiling," 28 Dec. 2018 Another judge in 2015 ruled in favor of a lawsuit brought on behalf of people housed in jails for weeks and months at a time while awaiting competency services for their mental-health issues. — Joseph O’sullivan, The Seattle Times, "Inslee unveils $675 million plan to reverse crisis in Washington’s mental-health system," 12 Dec. 2018

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.