await

verb

ə-ˈwāt 

awaited; awaiting; awaits

transitive verb

1

a

: 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

• anticipate
• expect
• hope (for)
• watch (for)

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

Teves was seen in handcuffs being escorted by East Timor police officers to an awaiting Philippine air force plane. —Arkansas Online, 30 May 2025

Chris Pratt also appears, reprising his role as James Reece ahead of The Terminal List Season 2, which is currently in production and awaiting a release date of its own. —Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 29 May 2025

Instead, Jim prefers to stay long Starbucks awhile awaiting additional progress on the turnaround. —Paulina Likos, CNBC, 29 May 2025

Consolation prizes await those who couldn’t affix widgets fast enough: a million airline miles, a $10,000 Starbucks card, free gas for life. —Pat Beall, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French aweiter, aguaiter, from a- (from Latin ad-) + guaiter to watch — more at wait

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Rhymes for await

• abate
• airfreight
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate
• castrate

Kids Definition

await

verb

ə-ˈwāt 

1

: to wait for : expect

await a train

2

: to be ready or waiting for

a reward awaits you