wait

verb

ˈwāt 

waited; waiting; waits

transitive verb

1

: to stay in place in expectation of : await

… waited the result of the advertisement.

—William Thackeray

wait your turn

2

: to delay serving (a meal)

3

: to serve food and drinks to the people sitting at : to act as a server for

wait tables

intransitive verb

1

a

: to remain stationary in readiness or expectation

wait for a train

b

: to pause for another to catch up

—usually used with up

2

a

: to look forward expectantly

just waiting to see his rival lose

b

: to hold back expectantly

waiting for a chance to strike

3

: to serve at meals

—usually used in such phrases as wait on tables or wait on table

4

a

: to be ready and available

slippers waiting by the bed

b

: to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized

the chores can wait

5

: pause, stop

—used to preface an interjected question, correction, etc.

"Wait, Mom. Wait. What did you say?" I said. "He left you what?"

—Frederick Busch

So wait, what's so bad about wanting to eat right?

—Annie Daly

see also:

wait on wait up

Can wait on mean "to wait for"?: Usage Guide

Many style commentators denigrate wait on where wait for can be used instead. Nevertheless, there is ample usage evidence to show that wait on is standard.

settlement of the big problems still waited on Russia

—Time

I couldn't make out … whether Harper was waiting on me for approval

—E. B. White

the staggering bill that waited on them at the white commissary downtown

—Maya Angelou

One reason for the continuing use of wait on may lie in its being able to suggest protracted or irritating waits better than wait for.

for two days I've been waiting on weather

—Charles A. Lindbergh

doesn't care to sit around waiting on a House that's virtually paralyzed

—Glenn A. Briere

Wait on is less common than wait for, but if it is familiar and natural to you, there is no reason to avoid it.

Synonyms of wait

• stay
• linger
• await
• remain

Examples of wait in a Sentence

I hate waiting in long lines.

They waited at the train station together.

You should have waited a little longer. He showed up right after you left.

I don't have time to wait around. If he's not here in five minutes, I'm leaving.

She waited behind after class to talk to the professor.

I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. How may I help you?

I waited and waited but he never showed up.

Wait! Don't start the engine yet.

We waited for the sun to set before starting the fire.

I know she was happy when I lost my job. She was waiting to see me fail.

Recent Examples on the Web

Everyone can relate to a character waiting for a phone call, or a text, that feeling of being stuck in a purgatorial gap that won’t end until the other person has made contact. —Literary Hub, 10 June 2026

Servers glide by with carts of champagne and caviar, and with desserts waiting to be flambéed right at your table. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 June 2026

Just a mile from Atlanta's stadium, which will welcome tens of thousands of fans to World Cup games this month, dozens of people were camped out on a downtown sidewalk waiting for a homeless shelter to open. —CBS News, 9 June 2026

More recently, a military spokesperson told the New York Times that the drone boat had delivered the pilots to a point in the water where they could be hoisted up to a waiting helicopter. —Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French waiter, guaiter to watch over, await, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wahta watch, Old English wæccan to watch — more at wake

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing wait

• can hardly wait
• can't wait
• can't wait all day
• hurry up and wait
• Just wait until
• just (you) wait
• lie in wait
• wait a minute/moment/second
• wait at table
• wait for it
• wait in
• wait/just a minute
• wait/just a moment
• wait-list
• wait on
• wait one's turn
• wait on (someone) hand and foot
• wait out
• wait tables
• wait until/till
• wait up
• wait upon

Rhymes for wait

• ate
• bait
• bate
• cate
• crate
• date
• eight
• fait
• fate
• fete
• frate
• freight

Kids Definition

wait

1 of 2 verb

ˈwāt 

1

a

: to remain in place in readiness or expectation of something : await

wait your turn

wait for orders

b

: to pause to let someone catch up

hey, wait for me

2

: postpone, delay

wait dinner for a guest

3

: to serve as a waiter or waitress

wait tables

wait at a luncheon

wait

2 of 2 noun

1

a

: a hidden position : ambush

—used chiefly in the expression lie in wait

b

: a state of watchful expectation

2

: an act or period of waiting

a long wait in line