wait
Forms
- present (v1)
- wait
- past (v2)
- waited
- past participle (v3)
- waited
- present participle
- waiting
- 3rd person singular
- waits
- Plural
- waits
Definitions
1.To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
- Wait here until your car arrives.
- They also serve who only stand and wait.
- Haste, my dear father; 'tis no time to wait.
2.To defer or postpone (especially a meal).(colloquial)
- Montague Thorold, who impatiently watched her wherever she went, came to tell her that his mother waited breakfast for her.
3.To remain faithful to one’s partner or betrothed during a prolonged period of absence.
- 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."
4.To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
- She used to wait in this joint.
1.A delay.
- I had a very long wait at the airport security check.
2.An ambush.
- They lay in wait for the patrol.
3.Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen.
- Hark! are the waits abroad?
4.Ellipsis of wait state.
Frequency
Overall
Very common· #289
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Very common
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Common
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”).