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English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
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”).
Cognate with Old High German wahtēn (“to watch, guard”), German Low German wachten (“to wait”), Dutch wachten (“to wait, expect”), French guetter (“to watch out for”), Saterland Frisian wachtje (“to wait”), West Frisian wachtsje (“to wait”), North Frisian wachtjen (“to stand, stay put”). More at watch.
In some senses, merged or influenced by Middle English waiten, weiten (“to do good to, lie in wait for, to contrive good or harm on, catch, snare”), from Old Norse veita (“to give help to, assist, grant, cause to happen”), from Proto-Germanic *waitijaną (“to show, guide, advise, direct”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, know”).
Largely overtook native Middle English biden, from Old English bīdan, source of bide.
Verb
wait (third-person singular simple present waits, present participle waiting, simple past and past participle waited)
- (intransitive) To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
Wait here until your car arrives. I’m still waiting for you to pay me back the money I lent you..
1697, Virgil, “Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:Haste, my dear father; 'tis no time to wait.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46:No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
1948 March and April, “Notes and News: London Transport Plans”, in Railway Magazine, page 132:The South London tramway replacement will have to wait, possibly five years, because of the slowing down of bus manufacture due to national requirements.
- (intransitive, stative, US) To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
She used to wait in this joint.
- (transitive, now rare) To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.)
- to wait one’s turn
1697, Virgil, “Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, / And wait with longing looks their promised guide.
1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial, published 2007, page 30:The Court had assembled, to wait events, in the huge antechamber known as the Œil de Boeuf.
- (transitive, obsolete) To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.
1697, Virgil, “Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all / His warlike troops, to wait the funeral.
1714, Nicholas Rowe, The Tragedy of Jane Shore:Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee, / And everlasting anguish be thy portion.
- (obsolete) To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
- (obsolete, colloquial) To defer or postpone (especially a meal).
1791, Charlotte Smith, Celestina, Broadview, published 2004, page 185:Montague Thorold, who impatiently watched her wherever she went, came to tell her that his mother waited breakfast for her.
- (obsolete, except in phrases) To watch with malicious intent; to lie in wait
- (intransitive) To remain faithful to one’s partner or betrothed during a prolonged period of absence.
1957, Dagny Taggart; Francisco d'Anconia, Ayn Rand's, Atlas Shrugged: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."
1974, The Bee Gees, “Night Fever”:I will wait / Even if it takes forever / I will wait / Even if it takes a lifetime
Usage notes
Conjugation
Synonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from wait (verb) Translations
transitive: delay until — see awaitdelay until some event
- Afrikaans: wag (af)
- Albanian: pres (sq)
- Altai:
- Southern Altai: кӱйер (küyer)
- American Sign Language: Claw5@InsideTrunkhigh-PalmUp-Claw5@InsideTrunkhigh-PalmUp Wiggle-Wiggle
- Amharic: መጠበቅ (mäṭäbäḳ)
- Arabic: اِنْتَظَرَ (ar) (intaẓara)
- Egyptian Arabic: استنى (istanna)
- Hijazi Arabic: استنى (astanna), انتظر (antaẓar)
- Moroccan Arabic: تسنى (tsanna), ستنى (stanna), عاين (ʕāyen)
- Aramaic:
- Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܣܵܦܹܪ (saper)
- Armenian: սպասել (hy) (spasel)
- Aromanian: ashteptu
- Asturian: esperar, aguardar
- Azerbaijani: gözləmək (az)
- Bashkir: көтөү (kötöw)
- Belarusian: чака́ць impf (čakácʹ), пачака́ць pf (pačakácʹ); ждаць impf (ždacʹ)
- Bengali: অপেক্ষা করা (bn) (opekkha kora)
- Bulgarian: ча́кам (bg) impf (čákam), оча́квам (bg) impf (očákvam)
- Burmese: စောင့် (my) (caung.)
- Carpathian Rusyn: че́кати impf (čékaty)
- Catalan: esperar (ca), esperar-se (ca)
- Cebuano: hulat
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 等 (yue) (dang2)
- Dungan: дын (dɨn)
- Mandarin: 等 (zh) (děng), 等待 (zh) (děngdài), 待 (zh) (dài), 候 (zh) (hòu)
- Czech: čekat (cs) impf
- Danish: vente
- Dutch: wachten (nl), afwachten (nl)
- Esperanto: atendi
- Estonian: ootama
- Even: алат- (alat-)
- Evenki: алат- (alat-)
- Ewe: lala
- Faroese: bíða
- Finnish: odottaa (fi)
- French: attendre (fr), patienter (fr)
- Friulian: spietâ
- Galician: esperar (gl), agardar (gl), mentrexar
- Gallurese: asittà, ambarà
- Georgian: დალოდება (dalodeba)
- German: warten (de)
- Alemannic German: beite
- Gothic: 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (beidan)
- Greek: περιμένω (el) (periméno)
- Ancient Greek: προσδέχομαι (prosdékhomai), μένω (ménō)
- Haitian Creole: tann
- Hawaiian: kali
- Hebrew: חיכה \ חִכָּה (khiká), הִמְתִּין (himtín)
- Hindi: प्रतीक्षा करना (pratīkṣā karnā), इंतज़ार करना (intzār karnā), ठहरना (hi) (ṭhaharnā)
- Hungarian: vár (hu)
- Icelandic: bíða (is)
- Ido: vartar (io)
- Ilocano: aguray
- Indonesian: menunggu (id)
- Irish: fan, fuirigh
- Istriot: spattà
- Italian: aspettare (it), attendere (it)
- Japanese: 待つ (ja) (まつ, matsu)
- Kashubian: czekac impf
- Kazakh: күту (kütüw), тосу (tosuw)
- Khmer: ចាំ (km) (cam), រងចាំ (rɔɔng cam)
- Korean: 기다리다 (ko) (gidarida), 대기하다 (ko) (daegihada)
- Kumyk: къаравулламакъ (qarawullamaq), къарамакъ (qaramaq), гёзлемек (gözlemek)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: چاوەڕێ کردن (çawerrê kirdin)
- Kyrgyz: күтүү (ky) (kütüü), күйүү (ky) (küyüü)
- Ladino: asperar
- Lao: ລໍ (lǭ), ລໍຖ້າ (lǭ thā)
- Latgalian: gaideit
- Latin: expectō, exspectō, opperior
- Latvian: gaidīt
- Lithuanian: laukti (lt)
- Lombard: spettà (lmo)
- Luxembourgish: waarden
- Macedonian: че́ка impf (čéka), почека pf (počeka), дочека pf (dočeka)
- Malay: menunggu
- Maltese: stenna
- Māori: whanga, tatari
- Marathi: वाट पाहणे (vāṭ pāhṇe), वाट बघणे (vāṭ baghṇe)
- Mongolian:
- Cyrillic: хүлээх (mn) (xüleex)
- Mongolian script: ᠬᠦᠯᠢᠶᠡᠬᠦ (küliyekü)
- Naga:
- Khiamniungan Naga: têu
- Nanai: халачи- (halači-)
- Neapolitan: aspettà
- Nepali: पर्खनु (parkhanu)
- Norman: attendre
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: vente (no), bie (no) (archaic)
- Nynorsk: venta, bie
- Occitan: esperar (oc)
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Cyrillic: жьдати impf (žĭdati), чекати impf (čekati)
- Glagolitic: ⰶⱐⰴⰰⱅⰻ impf (žĭdati)
- Old English: bīdan, ġebīdan
- Pannonian Rusyn: чекац impf (čekac), почекац pf (počekac)
- Pashto: انتظارايستل (entezãristᶕl)
- Persian:
- Iranian Persian: مُنْتَظِر شُدَن (montazer šodan), مُنْتَظِر بودَن (montazer budan), صَبْر کَرْدَن (sabr kardan), اِنْتِظار داشْتَن (entezâr dâštan), وایْسادَن (vâysâdan) (colloquial)
- Polish: czekać (pl) impf, oczekiwać (pl) impf
- Old Polish: żdać impf
- Portuguese: esperar (pt), aguardar (pt)
- Quechua: suyay, suyai, şuyai
- Romanian: aștepta (ro)
- Romansh: spetgar
- Russian: ждать (ru) impf (ždatʹ), подожда́ть (ru) pf (podoždátʹ), ожида́ть (ru) impf (ožidátʹ), чека́ть (ru) impf (čekátʹ) (Southern Russia, Ukraine)
- Sami:
- Kildin Sami: вӯррьтэ (vūrr’te)
- Northern Sami: vuordit
- Sanskrit: प्रतीक्षते (sa) (pratīkṣate)
- Sardinian:
- Campidanese: abettài, agguardai, aspettài
- Logudorese: appelidare, appittu, isettare, ispettare
- Sassarese: aipittà, aisittà, aisitt'
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: че̏кати impf
- Latin: čȅkati (sh) impf
- Slovak: čakať impf
- Slovene: čakati (sl) impf
- Somali: sugid
- Sorbian:
- Upper Sorbian: čakać (hsb) impf
- Spanish: esperar (es), aguardar (es), bancar (es) (transitive, River Plate), aguantar (es) (a moment)
- Sranan Tongo: wakti
- Swedish: vänta (sv), bida (sv)
- Tagalog: maghintay
- Tajik: мунтазир шудан (muntazir šudan), мунтазир будан (muntazir budan), интизор шудан (intizor šudan), интизор кашидан (intizor kašidan), сабр кардан (sabr kardan)
- Tamil: பொறுத்திரு (poṟuttiru)
- Tatar: көтәргә (tt) (kötärgä)
- Thai: รอ (th) (rɔɔ)
- Tibetan: སྒུག (sgug), ཕེབས་སྒུག་ཞུ (phebs sgug zhu) (honorific)
- Turkish: beklemek (tr)
- Turkmen: garaşmak
- Ukrainian: чека́ти (uk) impf (čekáty), жда́ти impf (ždáty), очі́кувати impf (očíkuvaty)
- Urdu: اِنْتِظار کَرْنا (intizār karnā), مُنْتَظِر ہونا (muntazir honā), صَبْر کَرْنا (sabr karnā), ٹَھہَرْنا (ur) (ṭhaharnā)
- Uyghur: كۈتمەك (kütmek)
- Uzbek: kutmoq (uz)
- Venetan: aspetar, spetar
- Vietnamese: đợi (vi), chờ (vi), chờ đợi (vi)
- Volapük: stebedön (vo)
- Walloon: ratinde (wa), rawårder (wa), atinde (wa)
- Welsh: aros (cy)
- Yiddish: וואַרטן (vartn)
- Zazaki: vende, pawen, pawen, poşeyen
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to serve customers
- Armenian: սպասարկել (hy) (spasarkel)
- Asturian: sirvir
- Bulgarian: обслу́жвам (bg) impf (obslúžvam), серви́рам (bg) impf or pf (servíram)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 企檯 / 企台 (kei5 toi4-2), (as a waiter, in a restaurant)
- Czech: obsluhovat
- Dutch: bedienen (nl)
- Finnish: tarjoilla (fi)
- French: servir (fr), faire le service
- German: bedienen (de)
- Greek: σερβίρω (el) (servíro)
- Italian: servire a tavola
- Japanese: ウエイターをする m (ueitā o suru), ウエイトレスをする f (ueitoresu o suru)
- Korean: 시중들다 (sijungdeulda), 서비스하다 (ko) (seobiseuhada)
- Latvian: apkalpot
- Macedonian: слу́жи impf (slúži)
- Māori: rato, whakarato, tuari
- Polish: kelnerować impf, obsługiwać (pl) impf, obsłużyć (pl) pf
- Portuguese: servir (pt)
- Romanian: a servi masa
- Russian: обслу́живать (ru) impf (obslúživatʹ), обслужи́ть (ru) pf (obslužítʹ)
- Spanish: servir (es), ser camarero (Spain)
- Volapük: bötön (vo)
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Noun
wait (plural waits)
- A delay.
I had a very long wait at the airport security check.
- An ambush.
They lay in wait for the patrol.
1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:an enemy in wait
- (computing) Ellipsis of wait state.
- (obsolete) One who watches; a watchman.
- (in the plural, obsolete, UK) Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book XVII]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC:[…] as he returned home to his owne house, the waits should sound the hautboies all the way
- (in the plural, UK) Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [formerly waites, wayghtes.]
1609–1612, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “The Captaine”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii:Hark! are the waits abroad?
- 1819-1820, Washington Irving, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon
- 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.
1890, Algernon Blackwood, Christmas in England:[…] the waits begin their rounds, and going from house to house, […] they sing carols and Christmas hymns until […] another Christmas-day has dawned. […]
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Interjection
wait
- (informal) Tells the other speaker to stop talking, typing etc. for a moment, often to allow clarification.
- Synonyms: hold on, wait a minute, just a minute
- And so I went upstairs—
- Wait. Your house has two floors?
Etymology 2
Calque of Japanese 待ち.
Noun
wait (plural waits)
- (Japanese mahjong) The last tile a player requires to complete a winning hand
Anagrams
Elfdalian
Etymology
From Old Norse hvítr, from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz. Cognate with Swedish vit.
Adjective
wait
- white
See also
Gothic
Romanization
wait
- romanization of 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍄
Jamaican Creole
Etymology
Proto-West Germanic *hwīt Jamaican Creole wait Inherited from English white.
Noun
wait (plural wait dem, quantified wait)
- white
Adjective
wait
- white
Further reading
- “A Learner’s Grammar of Jamaican”, in Open Grammar Project[1], 2015, Glossary[2]
Tok Pisin
Etymology
From English white. Cognate with Bislama and Pijin waet.
Adjective
wait
- white
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