Search Result for "wait": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

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

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


VERB (4)

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

2. wait before acting;
- Example: "the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment"
[syn: wait, hold off, hold back]

3. look forward to the probable occurrence of;
- Example: "We were expecting a visit from our relatives"
- Example: "She is looking to a promotion"
- Example: "he is waiting to be drafted"
[syn: expect, look, await, wait]

4. serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant;
- Example: "I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's"
[syn: wait, waitress]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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.] [1913 Webster] 1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] "But [unless] ye wait well and be privy, I wot right well, I am but dead," quoth she. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. --Job xiv. 14. [1913 Webster] They also serve who only stand and wait. --Milton. [1913 Webster] Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster] To wait on or To wait 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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Wait \Wait\, v. t. 1. To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation of; to await; as, to wait orders. [1913 Webster] Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, And wait with longing looks their promised guide. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 2. To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany; to await. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 3. To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all His warlike troops, to wait the funeral. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee, And everlasting anguish be thy portion. --Rowe. [1913 Webster] 4. To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; -- said of a meal; as, to wait dinner. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Wait \Wait\, n. [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch, watching, guard, from OHG. wahta. See Wait, v. i.] [1913 Webster] 1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt. [1913 Webster] There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican town of El Paso. --S. B. Griffin. [1913 Webster] 2. Ambush. "An enemy in wait." --Milton. [1913 Webster] 3. One who watches; a watchman. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 4. pl. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used in the singular. [Obs.] --Halliwell. [1913 Webster] 5. pl. Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [Written formerly wayghtes.] [1913 Webster] Hark! are the waits abroad? --Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] To lay wait, to prepare an ambuscade. To lie in wait. See under 4th Lie. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

wait n 1: 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, wait] 2: the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something); "the wait was an ordeal for him" [syn: wait, waiting] v 1: 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; "the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment" [syn: wait, 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, wait] 4: serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant; "I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's" [syn: wait, waitress]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

122 Moby Thesaurus words for "wait": abide, administer to, afterthought, attend, attend on, await, ballad singer, balladeer, bard, be patient, bear with composure, bide, bide the issue, bind, block, blockage, bureaucratic delay, care for, carry on, carry through, chore, dally, dance attendance upon, dawdle, delay, delayage, delayed reaction, detention, dillydally, do for, do service to, double take, dragging, drudge, fili, folk singer, folk-rock singer, forbear, gleeman, halt, hang about, hang around, hang-up, help, hindrance, hold everything, hold on, hold your horses, holdup, interim, jam, jongleur, lackey, lag, lagging, linger, logjam, loiter, look after, maid, mark time, minister to, minnesinger, minstrel, moratorium, obstruction, pander to, paperasserie, pause, red tape, red-tapeism, red-tapery, remain, reprieve, respite, retardance, retardation, rhapsode, rhapsodist, scop, serenader, serve, sit tight, sit up, sit up for, slow-up, slowdown, slowness, stay, stay of execution, stay up, stay up for, stick, stick around, stop, stoppage, street singer, strolling minstrel, suspension, sweat, sweat it out, sweat out, take care of, take time, tarry, tend, tie-up, time lag, troubadour, trovatore, upon, valet, wait a minute, wait and see, wait for, wait it out, wait on, wait up for, wandering minstrel, watch, watch and wait, work for