hurry up and wait
idiom
US, informal
—used to describe a situation in which one is forced to spend a lot of time waiting
My father says that all he did in the army was hurry up and wait.
—sometimes used as a noun phraseTraveling often involves a lot of hurry up and wait.
Examples of hurry up and wait in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
While tariffs on many countries remain in limbo, consumers and retailers simply have to hurry up and wait for further information on how prices—and margins—could be impacted.
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Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 24 June 2025
The team can’t hurry up and wait to be a true contender, fielding half-measure rosters around Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida filled with patch-job veterans and open auditions for inchoate prospects.
—Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 15 June 2023
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Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 24 June 2025
The team can’t hurry up and wait to be a true contender, fielding half-measure rosters around Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida filled with patch-job veterans and open auditions for inchoate prospects.
—Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 15 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Hurry up and wait.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hurry%20up%20and%20wait. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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