Definition

1. Verb:

   • To remain in a place or state until a particular event occurs: To stay where one is or delay action until something happens or someone arrives.
   • To serve food or drink, typically in a restaurant: To work as a waiter or waitress, attending to customers' needs.
   • To be ready or available: To be in a state of readiness for something.

2. Noun:

   • An act or period of waiting: The action or time spent staying where one is until a particular event.
   • A hidden observation point: (Archaic) An ambush or the place where one lies in concealment.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:

  • Please wait here until your name is called.
  • She had to wait for over an hour at the doctor's office.
  • He works in a café, where he waits tables on weekends.

• Noun:

  • The long wait for the test results was very stressful.
  • There was a two-hour wait to get into the popular restaurant.

Advanced Usage

• "to wait on/upon someone": To serve or attend to someone, often in a deferential manner.

  • The butler waited upon the guests with great care.

• "to wait up": To delay going to bed in order to await someone's arrival.

  • My mother said she would wait up for me until I got home.

• "to lie in wait": To hide in order to make a surprise attack (an idiom from the noun's archaic meaning).

  • The predator lay in wait for its unsuspecting prey.

Variants and Related Words

• Waiter/Waitress (n): A person whose job is to serve customers at their tables in a restaurant.
• Waiting (n/adj): The action of staying where one is; the period during which one waits. (e.g., )
• Await (v): To wait for an event or person (more formal, and takes a direct object).
  • We await your decision.

Synonyms

• Verb: Stay, remain, hold on, pause, delay, serve.
• Noun: Delay, hold-up, pause, interval.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Wait for: To await someone or something.

  • I am waiting for the bus.

• Wait on:

  • To serve someone (as in a restaurant or shop).

    • She waited on the customers promptly.
  • (Informal) To await something.

    • We are waiting on the final approval before we proceed.

• Wait around/about: To wait idly or for a long time, often without a clear purpose.

  • We waited around for an hour, but he never showed up.

• Wait out: To stay somewhere until an unpleasant event or period is over.

  • We decided to wait out the storm in the shelter.

Related Idioms

• Wait and see: To be patient and find out what will happen in the future.

  • I'm not sure what the plan is; we'll just have to wait and see.

• Wait tables: To work as a waiter or waitress.

  • She worked her way through college by waiting tables.

• Can't wait / Can hardly wait: To be very eager for something to happen.

  • I can't wait to see you again!

Noun

1. the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
   • the wait was an ordeal for him
2. time during which some action is awaited
   • instant replay caused too long a delay
   • he ordered a hold in the action

Verb

1. serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant
   • I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's
2. 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
3. wait before acting
   • the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment
4. stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
   • I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets