WAIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does wait mean? 

• WAIT (noun)
  The noun WAIT has 2 senses:

1. time during which some action is awaited

2. the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)

  Familiarity information: WAIT used as a noun is rare.

• WAIT (verb)
  The verb WAIT has 4 senses:

1. stay in one place and anticipate or expect something

2. wait before acting

3. look forward to the probable occurrence of

4. serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant

  Familiarity information: WAIT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WAIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Time during which some action is awaited

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

delay; hold; postponement; time lag; wait

Context example:

he ordered a hold in the action

Hypernyms ("wait" is a kind of...):

break; intermission; interruption; pause; suspension (a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wait"):

extension (a mutually agreed delay in the date set for the completion of a job or payment of a debt)

moratorium (a legally authorized postponement before some obligation must be discharged)

retardation (the extent to which something is delayed or held back)

Derivation:

wait (wait before acting)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

wait; waiting

Context example:

the wait was an ordeal for him

Hypernyms ("wait" is a kind of...):

inactivity (being inactive; being less active)

Derivation:

wait (stay in one place and anticipate or expect something)

• WAIT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they wait    ... he / she / it waits   
Past simple: waited   
Past participle: waited   
-ing form: waiting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Stay in one place and anticipate or expect something

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wait"):

ambuscade; ambush; bushwhack; lie in wait; lurk; scupper; waylay (wait in hiding to attack)

cool one's heels; kick one's heels (wait or pass the time aimlessly or futilely; be kept waiting)

stand by; stick about; stick around (be available or ready for a certain function or service)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

They wait a long time

Derivation:

wait (the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something))

waiter (a person who waits or awaits)

waiting (the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Wait before acting

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

hold back; hold off; wait

Context example:

the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment

Hypernyms (to "wait" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wait"):

hold out (wait uncompromisingly for something desirable)

delay (act later than planned, scheduled, or required)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Sentence example:

They wait to move

Derivation:

wait (time during which some action is awaited)

waiter (a person who waits or awaits)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Look forward to the probable occurrence of

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

await; expect; look; wait

Context example:

he is waiting to be drafted

Verb group:

anticipate; expect (regard something as probable or likely)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wait"):

expect (look forward to the birth of a child)

look forward (expect or hope for)

look to (turn one's interests or expectations towards)

hang on; hold on; hold the line (hold the phone line open)

anticipate; look for; look to (be excited or anxious about)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Derivation:

waiter (a person who waits or awaits)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

wait; waitress

Context example:

I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's

Hypernyms (to "wait" is one way to...):

work (exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

waiter (a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant))

 Context examples 

"If you like, miss," said Sam, "I'll wait in the hall for you; and if she frightens you, just call and I'll come in."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"Now, I can wait for you," he said grimly; "but hurry up."

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Something is cooking, dear Pisces—you wait and see!

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The girl must have waited above.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I must still make play and wait for a better opening.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Grey areas remain, we will have to wait at least another 6 years before knowing the long-term effects are known.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)

But if we only wait a few minutes, there will be no danger of our seeing them at all.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

But she said she supposed that they knew the road, and would follow her, and she could not stay there all day waiting for them.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

"We shan't wait a day longer," said the Scarecrow.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)