Pronunciations (6)
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/weɪt/
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/weɪt/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
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[weɪ̯ʔt]
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
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/wɛjʈ/
Pronunciation notes
- South-Asia
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/weʈ/
Pronunciation notes
- South-Asia
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weɪt
Verb
To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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Please wait here until I return.
Wait here until your car arrives.
I’m still waiting for you to pay me back the money I lent you..
More examples (4)
They also serve who only stand and wait.
Haste, my dear father; 'tis no time to wait.
No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
The South London tramway replacement will have to wait, possibly five years, because of the slowing down of bus manufacture due to national requirements.
To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
Usage- US usage
- Intransitive
- stative
- Examples
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She waits tables at a café.
She used to wait in this joint.
To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.)
Usage- Archaic
- Transitive
- Examples
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to wait one’s turn
Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, / And wait with longing looks their promised guide.
More examples (1)
The Court had assembled, to wait events, in the huge antechamber known as the Œil de Boeuf.
To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.
Usage- Obsolete
- Transitive
- Examples
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He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all / His warlike troops, to wait the funeral.
Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee, / And everlasting anguish be thy portion.
To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
Usage- Obsolete
To defer or postpone (especially a meal).
Usage- Colloquial
- Obsolete
- Examples
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Montague Thorold, who impatiently watched her wherever she went, came to tell her that his mother waited breakfast for her.
To watch with malicious intent; to lie in wait
Usage- Obsolete
To remain faithful to one’s partner or betrothed during a prolonged period of absence.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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More examples (1)
She did not question him. Before leaving, she asked only, "When will I see you again?" He answered, "I don't know. Don't wait for me, Dagny. Next time we meet, you will not want to see me."
I will wait / Even if it takes forever / I will wait / Even if it takes a lifetime
Noun
A delay.
- Examples
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There was a long wait at the station.
I had a very long wait at the airport security check.
An ambush.
- Examples
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They lay in wait for the patrol.
an enemy in wait
One who watches; a watchman.
Usage- Obsolete
Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
Usage- UK usage
- in-plural
- Obsolete
- Examples
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[…]as he returned home to his owne house, the waits should sound the hautboies all the way
Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen.
Usage- UK usage
- in-plural
- Examples
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Hark! are the waits abroad?
More examples (1)
1819-1820, Washington Irving, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon The sound of the waits, rude as may be their minstrelsy, breaks upon the mild watches of a winter night with the effect of perfect harmony.
[…] the waits begin their rounds, and going from house to house, […] they sing carols and Christmas hymns until […] another Christmas-day has dawned.[…]
Interjection
Tells the other speaker to stop talking, typing etc. for a moment, often to allow clarification.
Usage- Informal
- Examples
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Wait, which address do you mean?
- And so I went upstairs— - Wait. Your house has two floors?
Noun
time during which some action is awaited
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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instant replay caused too long a delay
he ordered a hold in the action
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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the wait was an ordeal for him
Verb
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
- Examples
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I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets
wait before acting
- Examples
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the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment
look forward to the probable occurrence of
- Examples
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We were expecting a visit from our relatives
She is looking to a promotion
More examples (1)
he is waiting to be drafted
serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's