Definitions for: Wait


[n] the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something); "the wait was an ordeal for him"
[n] time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the action"
[v] 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"
[v] wait before acting
[v] wait on tables; serve as a waiter; in restaurants"I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's"
[v] stay in one place and anticipate or expect something; "I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets"



Webster (1913) Definition: Wait, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waited; p. pr. & vb. n.
Waiting.] [OE. waiten, OF. waitier, gaitier, to watch,
attend, F. guetter to watch, to wait for, fr. OHG. wahta a
guard, watch, G. wacht, from OHG. wahh[=e]n to watch, be
awake. [root]134. See Wake, v. i.]
1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [Obs.]

``But [unless] ye wait well and be privy, I wot
right well, I am but dead,'' quoth she. --Chaucer.

2. To stay or rest in expectation; to stop or remain
stationary till the arrival of some person or event; to
rest in patience; to stay; not to depart.

All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till
my change come. --Job xiv. 14.

They also serve who only stand and wait. --Milton.

Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait.
--Dryden.



To wait on or upon.
(a) To attend, as a servant; to perform services for; as,
to wait on a gentleman; to wait on the table.
``Authority and reason on her wait.'' --Milton. ``I
must wait on myself, must I?'' --Shak.
(b) To attend; to go to see; to visit on business or for
ceremony.
(c) To follow, as a consequence; to await. ``That ruin
that waits on such a supine temper.'' --Dr. H. More.
(d) To look watchfully at; to follow with the eye; to
watch. [R.] ``It is a point of cunning to wait upon
him with whom you speak with your eye.'' --Bacon.
(e) To attend to; to perform. ``Aaron and his sons . . .
shall wait on their priest's office.'' --Num. iii. 10.
(f) (Falconry) To fly above its master, waiting till game
is sprung; -- said of a hawk. --Encyc. Brit.


Wait, v. t.
1. To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation
of; to await; as, to wait orders.

Awed with these words, in camps they still abide,
And wait with longing looks their promised guide.
--Dryden.

2. To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany;
to await. [Obs.]

3. To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with
ceremony or respect. [Obs.]

He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all His
warlike troops, to wait the funeral. --Dryden.

Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee, And
everlasting anguish be thy portion. --Rowe.

4. To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; -- said of a
meal; as, to wait dinner. [Colloq.]


Wait, n. [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch,
watching, guard, from OHG. wahta. See Wait, v. i.]
1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt.

There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican
town of El Paso. --S. B.
Griffin.

2. Ambush. ``An enemy in wait.'' --Milton.

3. One who watches; a watchman. [Obs.]

4. pl. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used
in the singular. [Obs.] --Halliwell.

5. pl. Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early
morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical
watchmen. [Written formerly wayghtes.]

Hark! are the waits abroad? --Beau & Fl.

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. --W.
Irving.

To lay wait, to prepare an ambuscade.

To lie in wait. See under 4th Lie.

Synonyms: await, delay, expect, hold, hold back, hold off, look, postponement, time lag, waiting

See Also: act, ambuscade, ambush, break, bushwhack, delay, extension, hang on, hold on, hold out, hold the line, inactivity, intermission, interruption, kick one's heels, lie in wait, look for, look forward, look to, lurk, moratorium, move, pause, retardation, scupper, stand by, stick about, stick around, suspension, waylay, work

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