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wait
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
wait
I.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a waiting list (=a list of people who are waiting for something)
▪ If you don’t get the class you want, you can put your name on a waiting list.
call waiting
can’t wait to see the back of (=I will be happy when it ends)
▪ I can’t wait to see the back of this project, I can tell you .
lie/wait in ambush
▪ Armed police lay in ambush behind the hedge.
put on a waiting list
▪ I was then put on a waiting list to see a specialist at the local hospital.
ready and waiting
▪ When the doorbell rang he was ready and waiting.
Sorry to keep you waiting
Sorry to keep you waiting – I got stuck in a meeting.
stand/wait in a queue
▪ She stood in the queue at the checkout.
stand/wait in line
▪ Customers stood in line for 20 minutes at the cash register.
sth is a disaster waiting to happen (=used to say that something is bad and will fail)
▪ The government’s educational reforms are a disaster waiting to happen.
wait a moment
▪ Wait a moment while I get my coat.
wait and see
▪ We’ll just have to wait and see.
wait for a bus
▪ We were waiting for the bus for half an hour.
wait for a train
▪ She sat on the railway platform for half an hour, waiting for a train.
wait for an answer
▪ Kate was looking at me, waiting for an answer.
wait for an explanation (=expect an explanation)
▪ She continued to stare at him in silence, waiting for an explanation.
waited patiently
▪ He waited patiently for Katherine to speak.
waited...with bated breath
▪ He waited for a reply to his offer with bated breath.
waiting list
▪ There is still a three-month waiting list for the cars.
waiting long
▪ Have you been waiting long?
waiting room
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
hardly
▪ I could hardly wait to get in those bars.
▪ She could hardly wait to start.
▪ I can hardly wait to hear about left temporal lobe epileptics.
▪ I can hardly wait - I hear some of John's outfits are quite stunning.
▪ This paper's radio critic can hardly wait.
▪ Well, I could hardly wait for the fight ahead.
patiently
▪ Carol and Gillian waited patiently while the hall slowly emptied.
▪ I had two companies engaged by two battalions and the third company waiting patiently.
▪ Everything was in perfect order, as if the place was waiting patiently for its occupants to arrive.
▪ Fixing her gaze back on the water, she felt again the presence behind her, waiting patiently.
▪ No 2 Countess waits patiently while the specially produced banner is displayed to the guest and press.
▪ Mail flies faster than thought, then waits patiently.
▪ He waited patiently for Katherine to speak.
▪ She would wait patiently, sure Frank would choose her in the end.
still
▪ Five years later, he is still waiting for a response.
▪ Dallas busted the game open when Irvin slipped past cornerback Terrell Buckley, who is still waiting for help from his safeties.
▪ Thousands of animals that have been killed are still waiting to be burnt or buried.
▪ Yet the world was still waiting on Flamsteed to finish surveying the stars.
▪ Whereas most factory riders spend winter testing for the following season, West was still waiting for his bike to be delivered.
▪ Stein and the other owners still wait for a damage settlement from their insurance carrier, State Farm Insurance Co.
▪ At eight, still waiting by the window, a second bulletin corrected one of the reports from the first.
▪ La Serenata is still waiting for their full liquor license.
there
▪ Nick was waiting there, holding Miss Fazackerly's hand.
▪ He then asked them again if they would be patient and wait there until he returned.
▪ Forester was waiting there, and he looked tired and worn.
▪ Paramount News sent another of their photographers, Andy Fulgoni, up to Trepassey to wait there for the fliers.
▪ Sailors waiting there hauled them roughly on to the ship, not caring how they landed.
▪ Would it, I asked, have seemed like an insult to find it waiting there on the table?
▪ She waited there a bit and then dashed up the road and crossed over to our street.
▪ I felt like a vulture sitting there waiting for bad emergencies to happen.
■ NOUN
answer
▪ Eagerly, Wilson waited for an answer, quite convinced of what it would be.
▪ Tobie was waiting for an answer.
▪ He did not wait for an answer, thrust the radio into a tuft of grass six inches from his face.
▪ He cocked his head, waiting for an answer.
▪ He was waiting for her answer, not exactly on the edge of his seat, though.
▪ However, if the customer is waiting for an immediate answer, there is no time for this.
▪ Almost two months after my interview, I was still hoping and waiting for an answer.
bus
▪ Half past eight comes and it is time to stand outside and wait for the bus.
▪ At least 16 children who had been waiting at the bus stop were questioned by investigators.
▪ I went to Westminster one night in mid-March, and was waiting for my bus just outside the Abbey.
▪ One by one, silently, they head out the door, across the lobby and into the waiting chartered bus.
▪ I had to wait for the bus.
▪ They reminded me of three little schoolboys I had just seen earlier this morning, waiting for the school bus.
▪ It was the kind of place where you waited for a bus that never came.
▪ Well, perhaps Warner had seen her waiting for a bus or hitchhiking to the inaugural and generously gave her a lift.
call
▪ Now he too was waiting for a phone call, promised for the afternoon.
▪ Women spend more time waiting to get telephone calls and wondering if there will be another date.
▪ If you leave the fax software running, waiting to answer incoming calls, you can't use the data modem as well.
▪ They were waiting for my call.
▪ A team of officers will also be waiting for calls at the Durham Police headquarters.
▪ Each night as I wait for his call I feel my strength on trial; what will become of my hard-won solitude?
▪ Especially now, waiting for the call into their presence.
▪ For the time being she was excused from her prop-room duties and she needn't wait for the curtain call.
days
▪ Around half of patients currently wait longer than two days to see their doctor.
▪ The rabbi told Minna that she would have to wait ninety days before she could be married again.
▪ We had friends who waited two days in Sorata before getting transport to the Ancohuma base.
▪ After waiting around for ten days he was instructed to proceed to Bombay.
▪ She had to wait four more days.
▪ Doctors at Pinderfield hospital, Huddersfield, will wait two days before operating to remove the pellet lodged behind his left eye.
▪ There they waited and marked their days.
hour
▪ We waited another half hour behind a pile of sand for the shooting to die down.
▪ Huge crowds were waiting an hour in the cold before the service was scheduled to begin.
▪ We must have waited half an hour.
▪ After hostage negotiators heard the gunshot over the phone, police waited about a half hour before entering the home.
▪ He waited an hour, quite immobile.
▪ Help yourself, but wait an hour after eating.
line
▪ Parr kept his window open, and while he waited on the line, let the sounds from outside wash his consciousness.
▪ Anyone who has ever waited in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles will sympathize with this dilemma.
▪ I look at the faces of the women waiting in line.
▪ A few people waiting in line mutter in disgust, others sigh.
▪ In Teheran poor peoples wait in long lines in the snow for paraffin.
▪ Fakhru did not like to wait in line.
▪ Half the kids stay to wait in line.
▪ The name Daley and Simon on the office door possesses magic that has the big clients almost waiting in line.
minute
▪ He left her on the hard shoulder, near Epping, Essex, saying she would only have to wait 15 minutes.
▪ And hey, wait a minute.
▪ Duck or diver, it had dived, and, though I waited for long minutes, it did not appear again.
▪ Aganiia, wait a minute, precious.
▪ We went inside and waited: the minutes seemed like hours.
▪ Then we threw down the two pull-cords on either side, waited a minute or so, and headed down.
▪ No, wait a minutes, don't tell me - it's a long time since - where was it?
minutes
▪ It's a big file, so expect to wait a few minutes.
▪ He waited fifteen minutes, which seemed like hours, and still she didn't come.
▪ The camp waited, and more minutes slowly passed.
▪ Duck or diver, it had dived, and, though I waited for long minutes, it did not appear again.
▪ We went inside and waited: the minutes seemed like hours.
▪ I waited ten more minutes, then raised the latch and eased the door open until it bumped against his head.
moment
▪ He pressed down on the cradle, waited a moment then dialled again.
▪ Perhaps he had been toying with John Chapel, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
▪ The pilot is under orders to wait for the right moment to land.
▪ Pat waited a moment, then sighed and hooked his arm.
▪ I was waiting for the right moment to find out just how deeply your were involved with Elise.
▪ All the while, however, he was waiting for his moment.
month
▪ On that basis the number waiting over 12 months is now 27 percent. lower than in March 1979.
▪ Of course, if I'd waited just a few months, I could have had anyone I liked.
▪ We still have to wait months for payment of vitally important benefits such as the attendance allowance.
▪ But it is not worth waiting several months for the right special offer to come up.
▪ Alistair waited for nearly two months.
▪ But she may have to wait up to eighteen months for surgery.
▪ Two days waiting like two bloody months.
▪ I buy your magazine every month and sometimes I don't receive it and have to wait till the month after.
train
▪ Charlotte walked slowly on to the platform and waited for her train to pull in.
▪ The platform is brightly lit and filled with people waiting for the train to pull in.
▪ The man was standing by his left shoulder, waiting for the train to stop.
▪ At about 4: 00 p. m. about 600 people were waiting around for their trains.
▪ But he could not sit patiently and wait for the next train, in an hour's time.
▪ There were a couple of men standing there by the door, waiting for the train to pull in and stop.
▪ I spect he's waiting for a train.
▪ It'd be nice to be waiting here for a train and then getting on it and going somewhere nice.
turn
▪ It is unnecessarily unnerving to be waiting your turn while potential workmates eye you up and down.
▪ Jelani had to wait his turn.
▪ Everyone had to wait their turn or be punished by filling in a long complicated questionnaire two hundred and sixteen times.
▪ Inside, he picked up a magazine and waited his turn.
▪ Goibniu would have to wait his turn.
▪ Men line up in the yard, smoking and passing around flasks and bottles while they wait their turn inside.
▪ Other questions, no less pressing such as who, how, why and when would just have to wait their turn.
years
▪ Mind has waited for 3 billion years on this planet before composing its first string quartet.
▪ But why did we have to wait 30 years to learn about them?
▪ No longer can the company wait two to three years to deliver a satellite, Schwendinger said.
▪ Sokolov's idea was good, but it had to wait more than 20 years before the technology to implement it was invented.
▪ She had been on transplant waiting lists for three years.
▪ Charlotte and Alexander have been waiting for years.
▪ Growers -- mostly peasant farmers -- planted agave in the late 1980s, then waited seven years for their crop to mature.
■ VERB
keep
▪ One man was not going to be kept waiting, though.
▪ Now, off you go, you have kept him waiting long enough.
▪ And Alvin never kept you waiting while he pondered.
▪ We kept waiting and waiting for you to pop up.
▪ Mr Clinton was horribly late for a night at the Hanoi opera house, keeping everyone waiting.
▪ We both kept waiting for the moment when the experience would overwhelm us and send chills up our spines.
lie
▪ He lay frozen, waiting for some reaction, but there was nothing.
▪ They lay there, waiting for sleep to come.
▪ I wonder whether I lay waiting, having to do without him and lull myself the whole way to sleep.
▪ In her room, Jenna undressed and went to bed, but she lay awake, waiting for grief to hit her.
▪ For the students it becomes a period of morbid hibernation, lying low and waiting out the years.
▪ Just sitting, lying, waiting for the inevitable visit to room 19.
▪ Now this woman of endless stories, a teacher, lies without words, waiting to die.
sit
▪ In his room he pulled on a dressing-gown and sat down and waited.
▪ Neither should be ignored-above all, not while we sit back and wait for the society to be transformed.
▪ Returning to his chair, he sat and waited.
▪ On the high hilltop in the darkness Psyche sat, waiting for she knew not what terror.
▪ All they had to do was sit back and wait for it all to fall apart.
▪ Her moment of complete despair had come when Doyle switched on the radio and sat down to wait and see what happened.
▪ You can see them on the hardwood ridges, but only if you sit down and wait patiently.
stand
▪ I therefore continued to stand there awkwardly, waiting for my employer to give me permission to undertake the motoring trip.
▪ While Rusakova stood waiting outside, Galina filed into the Buran along with 38 other passengers.
▪ We can not stand by and wait for the equivalent of the Apple Macintosh to create a second empowerment of our students.
▪ But these classical kids just stood around in rehearsal waiting to be shown what to do.
▪ They were made to stand and wait in the first of these.
▪ The young man stood patiently waiting, in jeans with rolled cuffs, two days' stubble on his chin.
▪ As soon as you saw that you were about to be struck, you stood at attention and waited for the blows.
▪ An intruder stood over me, waiting.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(waiting/lurking) in the wings
▪ He stopped by on his night off, was let in the stage door, and stood in the wings.
▪ None the less, there are always people waiting in the wings to discredit a positive image.
▪ On Concorde, though, the engines are embedded in the wings, next to the fuel tanks.
▪ Platt has had to wait in the wings because he is one of four foreign players fighting for the permitted three places.
▪ The local chapter leaders waiting in the wings seemed upset.
▪ There were no wealthy aunts or uncles waiting in the wings.
an accident waiting to happen
▪ A student helicopter pilot wallowing around in a hover in a tight clearing is an accident waiting to happen.
▪ Another way of putting it would be that the dollar is an accident waiting to happen.
▪ Mr Stewart said that there was an accident waiting to happen and he feared lives would be lost.
▪ People living near the site say it was an accident waiting to happen.
▪ Unless, of course, it was an accident waiting to happen.
can only hope/wait etc
▪ Dagenham's employees can only hope that Ford does not resurrect the phrase in the 1990s.
▪ Hamilton can only hope he improves as much as Benes has since the Padres traded him.
▪ Like the steeplechase where Vronsky breaks his mare's back with reckless riding, you can only wait for the pistol shot.
▪ The scientists can only wait and hope.
▪ Users can only hope the vendors will apply the same effort to other unresolved technology issues.
▪ We can only hope Gilstrap won't push to have any of that text deleted.
▪ We can only wait and help each other and watch this dreadful plague spread.
▪ You can only hope they learned from their mistakes.
let the dust settle/wait for the dust to settle
wait a minute/just a minute/hold on a minute/hang on a minute
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ "Have you heard about the job?" "No, I'm still waiting."
Wait here until I get back.
▪ Are you waiting to use the phone?
▪ He waited for the applause to die down before he continued speaking.
▪ I'll stay here and wait for Suzie.
▪ I'm so sorry I kept you waiting.
▪ I've done as much as I can - now all I can do is wait and see what happens.
▪ She waited for him to reply.
▪ The airline industry has adopted a wait-and-see attitude to the report's proposals.
▪ We spent almost an hour just waiting for the bus.
▪ Where have you been? I've been waiting since 7:00.
▪ You'll have to wait a few minutes - I'm not ready yet.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ After the first date he said he would phone her: she waited by the telephone until after midnight.
▪ Here is a soldier who was waiting, with a heavy heart, to suffer and die in battle.
▪ I am waiting to try it out on some one.
▪ People were jammed behind a metal fence, waiting for passengers coming in from abroad to emerge from Customs.
▪ She believed in the ship, and was waiting for it.
▪ Substantial supplies had to wait on the mining of reefs first found as late as 1880 outcropping on the Tawmaw plateau.
▪ The morning star has withdrawn behind the curtain of light to wait for its chance to shine again tomorrow.
▪ They were calling off their comrades who waited in ambush further ahead.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
average
▪ The average wait before this is located would be half a revolution if the whole overflow track were full.
▪ Usually this is not the case so the average wait will be less than half a revolution.
▪ The average wait was 20 weeks.
▪ This should reduce the average wait for notes from 20 weeks to 4.6 weeks.
▪ The average wait is usually about 40 seconds.
long
▪ Ironically, later auf became a local expression for a long wait, or working for nothing.
▪ Blue resigns himself to a long wait and then settles down with his newspapers and magazines.
▪ There was running and shouting outside, then a long wait in silence.
▪ And if you around here looking for justice, you got a long wait.
▪ Ferguson can not afford to wait if United are to end their long wait for the League title this season.
▪ Walking without tripping was enough after such a long wait.
▪ A long wait for a patient with bladder outflow obstruction for a specialist opinion is both undesirable and unacceptable.
▪ Then Alvin endured a long, dispirited wait for a flight back to New York late that night.
short
▪ After a short wait he climbed the stairs and at the top he called again.
▪ There's usually a much shorter wait, if any.
▪ After the interview with the doctor there may be a short wait before the examination itself begins.
▪ The train came miraculously in ten minutes, a short wait.
▪ I do studies in my office on patient satisfaction, short waits, warmth and caring of my office personnel.
■ VERB
face
▪ The parents face a nightmare week-long wait before blood tests show if there has been a hospital blunder.
▪ The tests are due to be carried out over the next fortnight but parents will face a six-week wait for the results.
▪ They will now face a six week wait for the results of the tests.
▪ Customers face a long wait before they have a chance of getting any money back.
▪ They face an anxious wait over the weekend to see whether the farm, at Woolstone, is infected.
lie
▪ There were pitched battles, so they lay in wait for you.
▪ Everywhere, finally, social revolution lies in wait, showing its colours and sharpening its demands.
▪ An ant-lion larva lies in wait at the bottom of its specially constructed pit.
▪ They will lie in wait for you.
▪ They also lie in wait and whip out an arm to seize the crab with their suckers.
▪ Some real bargains lie in wait amongst the never-ending maze of stalls.
▪ He ended up sinking into the madness that lies in wait for those who think too much about death.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
can only hope/wait etc
▪ Dagenham's employees can only hope that Ford does not resurrect the phrase in the 1990s.
▪ Hamilton can only hope he improves as much as Benes has since the Padres traded him.
▪ Like the steeplechase where Vronsky breaks his mare's back with reckless riding, you can only wait for the pistol shot.
▪ The scientists can only wait and hope.
▪ Users can only hope the vendors will apply the same effort to other unresolved technology issues.
▪ We can only hope Gilstrap won't push to have any of that text deleted.
▪ We can only wait and help each other and watch this dreadful plague spread.
▪ You can only hope they learned from their mistakes.
keep sb waiting
▪ Lott kept us waiting for 40 minutes while he attended another meeting.
▪ She was annoyed because she had been kept waiting.
let the dust settle/wait for the dust to settle
lie in wait (for sb)
▪ But who knows also the beauty which lies in wait hereabouts, which led Williams and Bingley to make the climb?
▪ Everywhere, finally, social revolution lies in wait, showing its colours and sharpening its demands.
▪ He lay in wait for his father and wounded him terribly.
▪ Life had always pulsated; death for ever lay in wait.
▪ One month ago, each new day had lain in wait to ambush Gabriel: he had woken up cringing.
▪ She lay in wait for pain, expecting no rewards from people, and this made her a hopelessly disconcerting friend.
▪ Some real bargains lie in wait amongst the never-ending maze of stalls.
▪ There were pitched battles, so they lay in wait for you.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ A lot of patients face a two-year wait for treatment.
▪ After a four-hour wait at the airport, we finally got on a flight to New York.
▪ I'm sorry you have had such a long wait.
▪ Relatives now face an anxious wait while the emergency services search the wreckage for survivors.
▪ There is often a one-hour wait to see a doctor.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ By the end of 1996 long waits had shot up again.
▪ I do studies in my office on patient satisfaction, short waits, warmth and caring of my office personnel.
▪ In many ways it's worth the wait.
▪ So there is not that long a wait.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Wait

Wait \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.

Wait

Wait \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 To wait upon.

    1. 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.

    2. To attend; to go to see; to visit on business or for ceremony.

    3. To follow, as a consequence; to await. ``That ruin that waits on such a supine temper.''
      --Dr. H. More.

    4. 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.

    5. To attend to; to perform. ``Aaron and his sons . . . shall wait on their priest's office.''
      --Num. iii. 10.

    6. (Falconry) To fly above its master, waiting till game is sprung; -- said of a hawk.
      --Encyc. Brit.

Wait

Wait \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.]

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
wait

early 13c., "a watcher, onlooker," from Old North French wait (Old French gait "look-out, watch, sentry"), from Old North French waitier (Old French gaitier; see wait (v.)). Compare Old High German wahta, German Wacht "a watchman." From late 14c. as "an ambush, a trap" (as in lie in wait). From 1855 as "time occupied in waiting;" 1873 as "an act of waiting." From the sense "civic employee responsible for signaling the hour or an alarm by sounding on a trumpet, etc." comes the old sense "town musicians" (mid-15c.).

wait

c.1200, "to watch with hostile intent, lie in wait for, plot against," from Anglo-French and Old North French waitier "to watch" (Old French gaitier "defend, watch out, be on one's guard; lie in wait for;" Modern French guetter), from Frankish *wahton or another Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *waht- (cognates: Dutch wacht "a watching," Old High German wahten, German wachten "to watch, to guard;" Old High German wahhon "to watch, be awake," Old English wacian "to be awake;" see wake (v.)). General sense of "remain in some place" is from late 14c.; that of "to see to it that something occurs" is late 14c. Meaning "to stand by in attendance on" is late 14c.; specific sense of "serve as an attendant at a table" is from 1560s. Related: Waited; waiting.\n

\nTo wait (something) out "endure a period of waiting" is recorded from 1849. Waiting room is attested from 1680s. Waiting list is recorded from 1841; the verb wait-list "to put (someone) on a waiting list" is recorded from 1960. Waiting game is recorded from 1835, originally in horse-racing.\n\nWhen speed, not stoutness, is the best of a horse, quite a contrary system is practised. With such a horse, the jockey plays a waiting game; that is, he carefully nurses him through the race, so as not to distress him by overpacing him; as the finish approaches, he creeps up to his horses by degrees, but does not quit them to go in front till he sees that the pace has made them "safe," -- when he lets loose and wins.

[James Christie Whyte, "History of the British Turf," London, 1840]

Wiktionary
wait

n. 1 A delay. 2 An ambush. 3 (context obsolete English) One who watches; a watchman. 4 (context in the plural obsolete UK English) hautboy, or oboes, played by town musicians. 5 (context in the plural archaic UK English) Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [formerly waites, wayghtes.] vb. 1 (context transitive now rare English) To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by "wait for".) 2 (context intransitive English) To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.

WordNet
wait
  1. n. time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the action" [syn: delay, hold, time lag, postponement]

  2. the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something); "the wait was an ordeal for him" [syn: waiting]

wait
  1. v. stay in one place and anticipate or expect something; "I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets"

  2. wait before acting [syn: hold off, hold back]

  3. 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" [syn: expect, look, await]

  4. serve as a waiter in a restaurant; "I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's"

Wikipedia
Wait (Beatles song)

"Wait" is a song released by the Beatles, on their 1965 album Rubber Soul. The songwriting credit is Lennon–McCartney, and the song is usually said to be a joint effort between the two, although in the 1997 book, Many Years from Now, McCartney recalls it as entirely his. This is supported by a 1970 interview with John Lennon by Ray Connolly. John could not remember writing it. "That must be one of Paul's," he said. The middle eight section is similar to Autumn Leaves (1945 song) (one example being the line "I know that you" matches "old winter's song" from Autumn Leaves).

Wait (The Whisper Song)

"Wait (The Whisper Song)" is a noted snap song released by Atlanta crunk rap duo Ying Yang Twins off their album U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta). The song originally written by Lettie Thompson consists of a minimal bass pulse, a few finger-snaps, and whispered, sexually explicit lyrics. The song's unique sound was mixed by Atlanta sound engineer Joel Mullis, who is currently affiliated with the production company 340 Music. "Wait" became a hit single, reaching No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Wait (command)

In computing, wait is a command which pauses until execution of a background process has ended.

Wait (album)

Wait is an album by Steelheart released October 25, 1996.

Because of both the lack of any original members contributions besides Michael Matijevic and the departure from Steelheart's classic sound, some people see this is more of a solo effort for Matijevic, rather than a new Steelheart album. However, with the release of Just a Taste Matijevic has since made it clear that he intends to use the Steelheart moniker for future releases.

Wait (musician)

From medieval times up to the early 19th century, every British town and city of any note had a band of waites (modern spelling waits). Their duties varied from time to time and place to place, but included playing their instruments through the town at night, waking the townsfolk on dark winter mornings by playing under their windows, welcoming Royal visitors by playing at the town gates, and leading the Mayor's procession on civic occasions.

WAIT (AM)

WAIT (850 kHz) is an AM radio station licensed to Crystal Lake, Illinois and serving the Chicago metropolitan area. It was purchased by Newsweb Corporation in 2003. WAIT airs a Spanish language Christian radio format. All hours are paid Brokered programming.

WAIT is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a Class D station and broadcasts only during daytime hours. The station is off the air from sunset to sunrise to protect KOA in Denver, the Clear-channel station on 850 kHz.

Because of its northwest suburban location and directional pattern, WAIT can be heard in Rockford, Illinois and Janesville, Wisconsin in addition to the Chicago Media market.

Wait (Emanuel Nice EP)

Wait is an EP released by the band Emanuel Nice. It was released by the German label Roddog Records.

Wait

Wait or WAIT may refer to:

Wait (The Polyphonic Spree EP)

Wait EP is an EP release by The Polyphonic Spree. "Sonic Bloom" is a cover of a song by Tripping Daisy, the former band of three Polyphonic Spree members, Tim DeLaughter, Mark Pirro, and Bryan Wakeland. The EP also features covers of Nirvana's " Lithium" and The Psychedelic Furs' " Love My Way".

Wait (Maggie Reilly song)

Wait is a Pop song by Scottish singer Maggie Reilly. It was released in 1992 as the album's third single. The song was written by Gavin Hodgson, Maggie Reilly, Stuart MacKillop and A. Seibold and produced by Armand Volker and Stefan Zauner. The single's B-side was written by Stefan Zauner and also appeared on the album.

Wait (Sons of Korah album)

Wait is the sixth album from the band Sons of Korah. It was released in 2011 by Wordsong Artists.

Wait (White Lion song)

"Wait" is a song recorded by White Lion and written by White Lion vocalist Mike Tramp and guitarist Vito Bratta. It was the lead single from their second album, Pride.

The single was released on June 1, 1987, but did not chart until February 1988, around the time the band filmed their Live in New York concert for MTV. In May 1988, "Wait" finally cracked the top 10 in the US, due in no small part to MTV airing the "Wait" music video in regular rotation—nearly seven months after the single's release. The song peaked at #8 and also charted at #48 in Canada and #88 in the UK.

The song features a music video and was also re-recorded in 1999 on the album Remembering White Lion (also released as "Last Roar" in 2004) and a live version was released in 2005 on the live album Rocking the USA. The live version was released as a promo and later iTunes single and also features as a bonus track on the album Return of the Pride.

Wait (system call)

In modern computer operating systems, a process (or task) may wait on another process to complete its execution. In most systems, a parent process can create an independently executing child process. The parent process may then issue a wait system call, which suspends the execution of the parent process while the child executes. When the child process terminates, it returns an exit status to the operating system, which is then returned to the waiting parent process. The parent process then resumes execution.

Modern operating systems also provide system calls that allow process threads to create other threads and wait for them to terminate (" join" them) in a similar fashion.

An operating system may provide variations of the wait call that allow a process to wait for any of its children processes to exit, or to wait for a single specific child process (identified by its process-ID) to exit.

Some operating systems issue a signal ( SIGCHLD) to the parent process when a child process terminates, notifying the parent process and allowing it to then retrieve the child process's exit status.

The exit status returned by a child process typically indicates whether the process terminated normally or abnormally. For normal termination, this status also includes the exit code (usually an integer value) that the process returned to the system. During the first 20 years of UNIX, only the low 8 bits of the exit code have been available to the waiting parent. In 1989 with SVR4, a new call waitid has been introduced that returns all bits from the exit call in a structure called siginfo_t in the structure member si_status. Waitid is a mandatory part of the POSIX standard since 2001.

Wait (Wang Chung song)

"Wait" is a single by Wang Chung, released as the fourth and final single from their 1984 album, Points on the Curve. The single reached #87 on the UK Singles Chart. Aside from the early singles released as Huang Chung, "Wait" was the only single by Wang Chung that failed to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. However, it peaked at #17 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

No music video was shot for "Wait".

Wait is also the only Wang Chung song to appear on two different non-compilation albums. Wait originally appeared on Points on the Curve, but was used again in the To Live and Die in L.A. soundtrack when director William Friedkin liked the song so much, he wanted to incorporate it into his 1985 thriller, To Live and Die in L.A. "Wait" appears during the end credits of the film.

Wait (Earshot song)

"Wait" is the lead single from Earshot's second album Two. It reached #13 on the Mainstream Rock charts and #33 on the Modern Rock charts.

Although it did not chart as well as the band's debut single, "Get Away," "Wait" is considered a breakthrough hit for the band and helped launch them into further mainstream success. It was featured on the video game soundtracks to both Madden NFL 2005 and MX vs. ATV Unleashed. An alternate version was also included on the former soundtrack as The D.O.C. vs. Earshot - "The Madden Re-Match." "Wait" was also featured in the DVD Tampa Bay Lightning 2004 Stanley Cup Champions. Former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk has used it as his entrance music as well.

Lyrically, the song deals with the frustration of loneliness and indifference toward the world. Phrasing is somewhat general and a particular inspiration or meaning behind "Wait" is not evident. Despite these melancholy themes, the song is rather quick-paced and headstrong in its execution.

Wait (Seven Mary Three song)

"Wait" is a song by Seven Mary Three and the lead single from their fifth studio album, The Economy of Sound, released on June 5, 2001. It also served as the English lead single to the Crazy/Beautiful film soundtrack released three weeks later ( La Ley's " Every Time/Siempre" was its Spanish lead single). "Wait" has since become one of the band's most popular songs, having reached #7 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks. It also entered radio as the #1 Most Added record of the format in its first two weeks.

Usage examples of "wait".

David waited silently, allowing Abie all the time she needed to answer his question.

The water boiled around Abo as the shark thrashed, but Abo stayed on and, holding the stick like handlebars, he pulled back to keep the shark from diving and steered him into the shallow water of the reef, where the other men waited with their knives drawn.

The party had come aboard without waiting to be invited, their leader stepping forward with his hat in his hand.

Then he walked out through the pecan trees in front of the house where Antonio stood waiting with the horses and they stood for a moment in a wordless abrazo and then he mounted up into the saddle and turned the horse into the road.

Shimon made a movement with his hand and Abrim waited for the screen to go dark.

He was abusing those waiting, and they were beginning to abuse him back.

Burn into thinking Aby might be waiting there, when Burn knew Aby was dead, and what was Burn to think?

The negotiator worked to isolate the suspect while at the same time setting himself in a position to wait, psychologically starving out the individual, as here, where Abies had effectively been placed under house arrest.

Next, wipe the fingertip with alcohol, benzine or acetone, waiting a few seconds for it to dry.

I left the coffee-room with the young Frenchman, who, being well acquainted with the place, took me to the most favourable spot, and we waited there for the two other champions, who were walking slowly and talking together.

The Sherlock and the Watson floated alongside the offloaded actinium waiting for a lighter to arrive and recover the stolen merchandise.

And presently she felt that she could not lie there any longer, waiting in actionless suspense.

Marathe was an addicted man waiting for seeking treatment by admission.

With Delilah and her father sharing the kitchen and Darla waiting tables, Addle had found herself wandering around useless.

She paused and waited to see how I would react and then I realized that she was talking about Aden Fiske and not the dean or someone at Caldwell College, where I teach.