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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Since Mills’ modeling can blindly reproduce the climates of the ancient past, he’s recently toyed with putting it into reverse to see what awaits our ever-changing planet in the far, far future. Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025 Unfortunately, Samsung’s challenge is that while applying the fix is urgent, users must await their turn. Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025 He was barred from leaving Iran and lived life in limbo for two years while awaiting sentencing. Fatemeh Jamalpour, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025 Teams like Texas Tech, BYU, Washington and USC are still awaiting their first true tests, so don’t look too much into their position. Chris Vannini, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for await

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of await was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Await.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/await. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

await

verb
1
: to wait for : expect
await a train
2
: to be ready or waiting for
a reward awaits you

More from Merriam-Webster on await

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!