wait
Plural: waits
Noun
- time during which some action is awaited
- the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
- "the wait was an ordeal for him"
- A delay.
- An ambush.
- Ellipsis of wait state.
- One who watches; a watchman.
- Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
- Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen.
Verb
Verb Forms: waited, waiting, waits
- To stay or remain in a place until something expected happens.
- stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
- "I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets"
- wait before acting
- look forward to the probable occurrence of
- "he is waiting to be drafted"
- serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant
- "I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's"
- To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
- To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
- To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.)
- To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.
- To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
- To defer or postpone (especially a meal).
- To watch with malicious intent; to lie in wait
- To remain faithful to one’s partner or betrothed during a prolonged period of absence.
Intj
- Tells the other speaker to stop talking, typing etc. for a moment, often to allow clarification.
Examples
- - And so I went upstairs— - Wait. Your house has two floors?
- Experienced Scrabble players often wait for the perfect moment to play a bingo.
- I had a very long wait at the airport security check.
- I’m still waiting for you to pay me back the money I lent you..
- She used to wait in this joint.
- They lay in wait for the patrol.
- to wait one’s turn
- Wait here until your car arrives.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English waiten, from Anglo-Norman waiter, waitier (compare French guetter from Old French gaitier, guaitier), from Frankish *wahtwēn (“to watch, guard”), derivative of Frankish *wahtu (“guard, watch”), from Proto-Germanic *wahtwō (“guard, watch”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (“to be fresh, cheerful, awake”).
Cognate with Old High German wahtēn (“to watch, guard”), German Low German wachten (“to wait”), Dutch wachten (“to wait, expect”), French guetter (“to watch out for”), Saterland Frisian wachtje (“to wait”), West Frisian wachtsje (“to wait”), North Frisian wachtjen (“to stand, stay put”). More at watch.
In some senses, merged or influenced by Middle English waiten, weiten (“to do good to, lie in wait for, to contrive good or harm on, catch, snare”), from Old Norse veita (“to give help to, assist, grant, cause to happen”), from Proto-Germanic *waitijaną (“to show, guide, advise, direct”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, know”).
Largely overtook native Middle English biden, from Old English bīdan.
Synonyms
await, delay, expect, hold, hold back, hold off, look, postponement, time lag, waiting, waitress, abide, attend, back that train up, bestand, bide, bide one's time, defer, escort, go with, hang on, hold on, hold one's breath, hold one's horses, hold one's water, hold out, just a minute, mark time, postpone, serve, stand by, stay, tend, twiddle one's thumbs, wait, wait a minute, wait for, wait on, wait upon
Antonyms
act, go it blind, grasp, grasp the nettle, jump at the chance, jump on, jump the gun, shoot first and ask questions later, shoot from the hip
Scrabble Score: 7
wait: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordwait: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
wait: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary