wait in English dictionary

  • wait

    Meanings and definitions of "wait"

    • (transitive, now rare) To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by "wait for".)
    • (intransitive) To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
    • (intransitive, US) To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
    • A delay.
    • An ambush.
    • (obsolete) One who watches; a watchman.
    • plural Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
    • plural Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [formerly waites, wayghtes.]
    • noun
      A delay.
    • noun
      An ambush.
    • noun
      (obsolete)
      One who watches; a watchman.
    • noun
      (in the plural, obsolete, Britain)
      Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
    • noun
      (in the plural, archaic, Britain)
      Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [formerly waites, wayghtes.]
    • verb
      (transitive, now rare)
      To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.)
    • verb
      (intransitive)
      To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
    • verb
      (intransitive, US)
      To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
    • verb
      (obsolete)
      To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.
    • verb
      (obsolete)
      To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
    • verb
      (obsolete)
      To defer or postpone (a meal).
    • To refrain from acting or moving for some duration or until some event occurs.
    • To look forward to, as to something that is believed to be about to happen or come.
    • delay until some event
    • to serve customers
    • a delay
    • To serve in a restaurant.
    • noun
      the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something); "the wait was an ordeal for him"
    • noun
      time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the action"
    • verb
      look forward to the probable occurrence of; "We were expecting a visit from our relatives"; "She is looking to a promotion"; "he is waiting to be drafted"
    • verb
      serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant; "I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's"
    • verb
      stay in one place and anticipate or expect something; "I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets"
    • verb
      wait before acting; "the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment"

    Synonyms of "wait" in English dictionary

    hold, hold off, work are the top synonyms of "wait" in the English thesaurus.

    Grammar and declension of wait

    • wait ( plural  waits)
    • wait, waited, waited, he waits, be waiting
    • wait ( third-person singular simple present waits, present participle waiting, simple past and past participle waited)
    • wait (plural waits)
    • wait (third-person singular simple present waits, present participle waiting, simple past and past participle waited)
  • Wait

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