Idioms for wait
lie in wait,
to wait in ambush: The army lay in wait in the forest.
wait table.
table(def 26).
Origin of wait
1150–1200; (v.) early Middle English
waiten < Anglo-French
waitier; Old French
guaitier < Germanic; cognate with Old High German
wahtēn to watch, derivative of
wahta a watch (see
wake1); (noun) late Middle English < AF derivative of
waitier
SYNONYMS FOR wait
1
await,
linger,
abide,
delay.
Wait,
tarry imply pausing to linger and thereby putting off further activity until later.
Wait usually implies staying for a limited time and for a definite purpose, that is, for something expected:
to wait for a train.
Tarry is a somewhat archaic word for
wait, but it suggests lingering, perhaps aimlessly delaying, or pausing (briefly) in a journey:
to tarry on the way home; to tarry overnight at an inn.
usage note for wait
15e, f. Sometimes considered objectionable in standard usage, the idiom
wait on meaning “to wait for, to await (a person)” is largely confined to speech or written representations of speech. It is most common in the Midland and Southern United States:
Let's not wait on Rachel, she's always late.
Wait on or
upon (an event) does not have a regional pattern and occurs in a wide variety of contexts:
We will wait on (or
upon )
his answer and make our decision then. The completion of the merger waits upon news of a drop in interest rates.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wait
wait weightWords nearby wait
British Dictionary definitions for wait on (1 of 2)
wait on
verb (intr, preposition)
to serve at the table of
to act as an attendant or servant to
archaic
to visit
interjection
Australian and NZ
stop! hold on!
Also (for senses 1, 2, 3):
wait upon
British Dictionary definitions for wait on (2 of 2)
wait
/ (weɪt) /
verb
noun
Word Origin for wait
C12: from Old French
waitier; related to Old High German
wahtēn to
wake
1
Idioms and Phrases with wait on (1 of 2)
wait on
Also, wait upon. Serve, minister to, especially for personal needs or in a store or restaurant. For example, Guests at the Inn should not expect to be waited on—they can make their own beds and get their own breakfast. [Early 1500s]
Make a formal call on, as in They waited on the ambassador. [c. 1500]
Also, wait upon. Await, remain in readiness for, as in We're waiting on their decision to close the school. This usage, a synonym of wait for, dates from the late 1600s but in the mid-1800s began to be criticized by many authorities. However, by the late 1900s it had come into increasingly wider use and is again largely accepted.
Idioms and Phrases with wait on (2 of 2)
wait