as in delay
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as in staying
to remain in place in readiness or expectation of something
please wait here, and we'll seat you shortly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waiting
Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
In California, law enforcement must accept any report of a missing person, including runaways, without delaying for a specific waiting period, according to the State of California Department of Justice.
—Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 26 Jan. 2026
But waiting may not be necessary and, in fact, could even be risky.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
A lot of sitting around, a lot of waiting.
—David Chiu, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
But under a complex rule, Kraft would have to undergo a five-month waiting period before receiving his first check.
—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, jsonline.com, 23 Jan. 2026
More often, immigration officers simply play the waiting game — a pace that is not conducive to Trump fulfilling his promise of mass deportations.
—Julie Watson, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
The film is set in the artistic and academic milieu and portrays the silent mechanisms of exclusion and the emotional toll of waiting, fear and uncertainty, while examining how political systems shape the most intimate decisions of everyday life.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
Around one-thirty, the three representatives were led into a waiting area in a security checkpoint with chairs and a metal detector.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Hank Tucker, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
But others waiting appeared to burn with the indignation of an era in US-Cuban relations that until recently had been relegated to the history books.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026
After about five minutes of waiting by the carousel, a singular pair of socks came up.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
What acting early actually looks like The leaders who are meeting the moment aren’t waiting for perfect certainty.
—Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
As the deep freeze approaches, Crow warned that waiting too long could be costly.
—Sergio Candido, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
It’s called waiting for a better setup to materialize.
—Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
And in the middle of those choices are real people — standing in the cold, waiting for a bus.
—Zeynep Portway, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026
Her absence forced the defense to step up in order to work around a Maryland offense that was almost always in motion – except for 6-3 guard Yarden Garzon, who stationed herself on the perimeter waiting for a teammate to kick out to her for a shot.
—Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 16 Jan. 2026
Noun
The waiting wasn’t made any easier by the heat, which the papers were calling a sample of July.
—Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
In California, law enforcement must accept any report of a missing person, including runaways, without delaying for a specific waiting period, according to the State of California Department of Justice.
—Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 26 Jan. 2026
But waiting may not be necessary and, in fact, could even be risky.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
A lot of sitting around, a lot of waiting.
—David Chiu, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
But under a complex rule, Kraft would have to undergo a five-month waiting period before receiving his first check.
—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, jsonline.com, 23 Jan. 2026
More often, immigration officers simply play the waiting game — a pace that is not conducive to Trump fulfilling his promise of mass deportations.
—Julie Watson, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
The film is set in the artistic and academic milieu and portrays the silent mechanisms of exclusion and the emotional toll of waiting, fear and uncertainty, while examining how political systems shape the most intimate decisions of everyday life.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
Around one-thirty, the three representatives were led into a waiting area in a security checkpoint with chairs and a metal detector.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Verb
That’s bad news for hundreds of middling private equity firms waiting for a lifeboat that may never come.
—Hank Tucker, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
But others waiting appeared to burn with the indignation of an era in US-Cuban relations that until recently had been relegated to the history books.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026
After about five minutes of waiting by the carousel, a singular pair of socks came up.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
What acting early actually looks like The leaders who are meeting the moment aren’t waiting for perfect certainty.
—Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
As the deep freeze approaches, Crow warned that waiting too long could be costly.
—Sergio Candido, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
It’s called waiting for a better setup to materialize.
—Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
And in the middle of those choices are real people — standing in the cold, waiting for a bus.
—Zeynep Portway, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026
Her absence forced the defense to step up in order to work around a Maryland offense that was almost always in motion – except for 6-3 guard Yarden Garzon, who stationed herself on the perimeter waiting for a teammate to kick out to her for a shot.
—Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waiting
Noun
-
Bridgerton season four wisely ditches the blackmail and delays Bridgerton’s indecent proposal.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Originally supposed to fly Sierra Space Dream Chaser test flight, but payload switched to an inert mass simulator because of potential Dream Chaser delays beyond October launch date.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But putting on a tux and celebrating with an administration that is rapidly falling out of step with the global public — which their shareholders are members of — is different from staying silent.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The appeals court, however, said staying the injunction serves the public interest by preventing federal agents from hesitating while carrying out lawful duties.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Your LinkedIn audience wants depth and productive procrastination while Twitter needs bite-sized wisdom.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Rather than seeing patterns like procrastination as flaws, the book encourages people to understand their protective function.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
During the operation, the suspects rented a shipping container to store materials and millions of counterfeit tablets awaiting distribution.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Zenada Greer, the fifth defendant in the case, was arrested in Kentucky and is awaiting extradition to Indiana on obstruction and assisting a criminal charges.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Over time, this hesitation creates cognitive overload, last-minute scrambling and fewer growth opportunities for other leaders.—
Dilan Gomih,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
According to Tuff, what causes leaders to miss these paradigm shifts is not ignorance but hesitation.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Multiple royal watchers have claimed the prince has struggled to move beyond the fallout of his dramatic exit from royal life six years ago, citing professional setbacks and lingering personal tensions.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
28 Jan. 2026
-
This lingering becomes the sound of a book in a new room, opening, its music carried in a wind that crosses borders.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Food halls Food halls are our answer to group indecision.—
Eric Barton,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Her character, Zosia, may have had to honor Carol Sturka’s (Rhea Seehorn) request for an atom bomb, but based on their parting glance, Wydra still senses some indecision from Carol about this manner of escalation.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Congress has already approved six of its 12 annual spending bills, but the remaining funding accounts for 75% of all discretionary spending.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Jan. 2026
-
China National Nuclear Corporation holds a 51% stake, while China Guodian Corporation owns the remaining 49%.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waiting. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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