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Header of wait


Wait appears in the following palindromes (phrases that read the same backward as forward):

  • Lace me, Portia! Wait - rope me, Cal!
  • To lay aside, wait a sec: "Ivan, in a vice sat I, awed!" I say a lot.
View more palindromes!
WAIT is a word made from vertically symmetrical letters.

Wait is sometimes a misspelling of what.


Video footage: 4K Customer in cafe makes payment with smartphone while queue of customers wait UK - April, 2016
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Definition of the noun wait

What does wait mean as a name of something?

noun - plural: waits

  1. time during which some action is awaited
    • lexical domain: Time - nouns denoting time and temporal relations
    • synonyms of wait: delay / hold / postponement / time lag
    • more generic words: break / intermission / interruption / pause / suspension = a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
    • more specific words:
      • extension = a mutually agreed delay in the date set for the completion of a job or payment of a debt
      • moratorium = a legally authorized postponement before some obligation must be discharged
      • retardation = the extent to which something is delayed or held back
    • example: the wait was an ordeal for him
    • lexical domain: Acts - nouns denoting acts or actions
    • synonym of wait: waiting
    • more generic word: inactivity = being inactive

Alternative definition of the noun wait


  1. A delay.
  2. An ambush.
  3. [obsolete] One who watches; a watchman.
  4. [plural, obsolete, UK] Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
  5. [plural, archaic, UK] Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [formerly waites, wayghtes.]

Definition of the verb wait

What does wait mean as a doing word?

Wait is one of the top 100 most common verbs in the English language.View more statistics!

verb - inflections: waited | waiting | waits

  1. stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
  2. wait before acting
    • example: They wait to move
    • synonyms of wait: hold back / hold off
    • more generic words: act / move = perform an action, or work out or perform
    • more specific terms:
      • hold out = wait uncompromisingly for something desirable
      • delay = act later than planned, scheduled, or required
  3. look forward to the probable occurrence of
  4. serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant
    • example: I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's
    • synonym of wait: waitress
    • more generic word: work = exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity

Alternative definition of the verb wait


  1. [transitive, now rare] To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by "wait for".)
  2. [intransitive] To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
  3. [intransitive, US] To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.


  1. "Wait" is a song recorded by the Beatles, from 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.
  2. "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. It is well known for its guitar solo at the 2:15 mark.
  3. "Wait" is an album by Steelheart released October 25, 1996.
  4. "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.
  5. "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. "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.
  6. "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.
  7. "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.
  8. "Wait" is the sixth album from the band Sons of Korah. It was released in 2011 by Wordsong Artists.
  9. "Wait" is an EP released by the band Emanuel Nice. It was released by the German label Roddog Records.
  10. "Wait" is a composition, cataloged instance.
  11. "Wait" is a composition, cataloged instance.
  12. "Wait" is a musical single of Rob McAndrews.
    • also known as Wait / South Congress
    • released on
  13. "Wait" is a musical album of Guts Pie Earshot.
    • released in (17 years ago)
  14. "Wait" is a musical EP of The Polyphonic Spree.
    • released on (9 years ago)


  1. "Wait" a.k.a. "Jagwal" was the first Garhwali movie made in 1983 by Parasar Gaur. Jagwal is a garhwali word which means The Long Wait. It is a Family melodrama which revolves around a young woman. The story goes like this.. A young wife had to wait seven years for her husband as he is arrested and sentenced on murder charges. This happened immediately after their marriage. Her husband advises her to marry his younger brother or run away from home. However, she refuses to follow her husband's advise and decides to wait for him.
  2. "Wait" is a 2009 short animation film directed by Sanjay Jangid.
  3. "Wait" is a 2004 short comedy film written and directed by Bethany Ashton Wolf.


  1. wait: In computing, wait is a command which pauses until execution of a background process has ended.
  2. wait: In modern computer operating systems, a process 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.
  3. WAIT is a radio station licensed to Crystal Lake, Illinois. It was purchased by Newsweb Corporation in 2003.

Phrases with Wait

Phrases starting with the word Wait:

  1. wait on
  2. Wait Up
  3. Wait'll
  4. wait for
  5. Wait state
  6. wait-a-bit
  7. Wait For It
  8. Wait Tables
  9. Wait-a-Bit Vine
  10. Wait on Hand and Foot
  11. Wait For the Ball to Drop
  12. Wait For the Other Shoe to Drop

Phrases ending with the word Wait:

  1. Can't Wait
  2. lie in wait
  3. lying in wait
  4. to lie in wait
  5. All Things Come to Those Who Wait
  6. Good things come to those who wait

Other phrases containing the word Wait:

  1. to wait on
  2. Time and Tide Wait for No Man

View more phrases with the word Wait in thesaurus!

Printed dictionaries and other books with definitions for Wait


Google previewJurgen Moltmann (2014)

Collected Readings by Jurgen Moltmann, Margaret Kohl

The ability to wait also means not conforming to the conditions of this world of injustice and violence.

Being able to wait means resisting the threats and seductions of the present, not letting oneselfbe brought into line, and not conforming.

Google previewStriving with Grace (2008)

Views of Free Will in Anglo-Saxon England by Aaron J. Kleist

Here, on the other hand, waiting is presented as a proactive step: God's decision to wait is a conscious act of mercy; ...

Google previewMusic News (1918)

Miss Wait is an admirable recital artist.

Google previewEncyclopedia of Urban Legends (2001)

by Jan Harold Brunvand

Numerous college and university students, and even a few professors and administrators, believe that a campus regulation specifies how long a class must wait for a late instructor to arrive in the classroom. Sometimes there is a sliding scale ...

Google previewDictionary of Banking and Finance (2009)

Over 9,000 terms clearly defined by Bloomsbury Publishing

white-collarwhite-collar /wait kɒlə/ adjective referring to office workers '...the share of white-collar occupations in total employment ...

Google previewMosby's Dental Dictionary (2007)

by Elsevier, Mosby

Wait 1-5 min Middle superior alveolar (MSA) Short 1. Facial gingiva of maxillary premolars and ...

Online dictionaries and encyclopedias with entries for Wait


Usage statistics about wait


Usage statistics for the verb wait:

spoken English54.78%written English45.22% conversational speech71.06%task-oriented speech28.94% imaginative writing84.43%informational writing15.57%

Distribution of usage frequency for the most common synonyms of the noun wait:


Distribution of usage frequency for the most common synonyms of the verb wait:


Photos about Wait

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Small photo of sit and waitSmall photo of Cute pug dog wait owner to come back home at the door More...

Video language resources about Wait

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View more videos about Wait on, Wait Up, wait for, Lie in Wait, Wait It Out, Wait Tables, Hell Can Wait, All Things Come to Those Who Wait, and Good things come to those who wait.

See also the pronunciation examples of Wait!

Sign language

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Quotes about Wait

I wait
I wait
Praying to God
Replies the god
I keep on
For the wait
To end
But the wait
Never ends (Nirantar Dr.Rajendra Tela)
more quotes about wait...

Scrabble value of W4A1I1T1


Anagrams of WAIT

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See also the blanagrams of Wait!

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