INDEX:
1. to wait
2. what you say to tell someone to wait
3. a period of time when you have to wait
4. to make someone wait
5. when you stand in a line of people waiting
6. when someone is waiting for something to happen
RELATED WORDS
to believe that something will happen : ↑ EXPECT
see also
↑ DELAY
↑ LATER
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1. to wait
▷ wait /weɪt/ [intransitive verb]
to spend time not doing very much, while you are expecting something to happen or expecting someone to arrive :
▪ Wait here until I get back.
▪ Hurry up, everyone’s waiting.
wait for somebody
▪ I’ll stay here and wait for Suzie.
wait for something
▪ We spent almost an hour just waiting for the bus.
wait (for) a minute/two hours/a long time etc
▪ Where have you been? I’ve been waiting since 7:00.
▪ You’ll have to wait a few minutes - I’m not ready yet.
wait to do something
▪ Are you waiting to use the phone?
wait for somebody/something to do something
▪ She waited for him to reply.
▪ He waited for the applause to die down before he continued speaking.
keep somebody waiting
make someone wait, for example by arriving late
▪ I’m so sorry I kept you waiting.
wait and see
wait to find out what will happen
▪ I’ve done as much as I can - now all I can do is wait and see what happens.
wait-and-see attitude/position/approach etc
▪ The airline industry has adopted a wait-and-see attitude to the report’s proposals.
▷ hold on/hang on /ˌhəʊld ˈɒn, ˌhæŋ ˈɒn/ [intransitive phrasal verb] spoken
to wait, especially in a difficult situation, hoping that something good will happen :
▪ Captain Damas decided it was best to hold on and wait for the other ship to arrive.
▪ We knew that if we hung on long enough, things were bound to change.
▷ hang around also hang about British informal /ˌhæŋ əˈraʊnd ˌhæŋ əˈbaʊt/ [intransitive phrasal verb] informal
to wait in one place without doing anything, so that you are wasting time :
▪ Sally hung around for over an hour but no-one came.
▪ I wish we could get on with the job. I hate all this hanging about.
hang around for
British
▪ We spent half an hour hanging about for Kerry.
hang around for hours/ages etc
▪ We were hanging around for hours before they opened the gates.
keep somebody hanging around
▪ We can’t keep our troops hanging around forever, doing nothing.
▷ stand by /ˌstænd ˈbaɪ/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to wait and be ready to do something if needed :
▪ The family stood by, knowing that she might wake up any minute.
stand by for
▪ The crew was ordered to stand by for take-off.
stand by to do something
▪ The Foreign Minister had a helicopter standing by to whisk him to the northern city of Afula.
▷ wait your turn /ˌweɪt jɔːʳ ˈtɜːʳn/ [verb phrase]
to wait before doing something that other people are also waiting to do, because some of them have the right to do it before you :
▪ Everyone has to wait their turn.
wait your turn to do something
▪ A long line of people waited their turn to shake his hand.
▷ sit out /ˌsɪt ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to wait until something has finished, especially something unpleasant or boring :
sit it out
▪ If the plane’s late, there’s nothing we can do except sit it out.
sit something out
▪ Tony forced himself to sit the play out.
sit out something
▪ Like many people in the community, we sat out the storm at home, hoping no disasters would occur.
▷ await /əˈweɪt/ [transitive verb] formal
to wait for something :
▪ The committee is awaiting a decision from head office before it takes any action.
▪ Two men have been charged with murder and are now in prison awaiting trial.
▷ long-awaited /ˌlɒŋ əˈweɪtə̇d◂ǁˌlɔːŋ-/ [adjective only before noun]
used to describe things that you have waited for for a long time :
▪ The next morning we received the long-awaited order to attack.
▪ It is hoped that these measures will trigger the long-awaited upturn in the economy.
2. what you say to tell someone to wait
▷ wait /weɪt/:
▪ Wait, I have a better idea.
▪ Wait! We haven’t talked to Vicky yet.
wait a minute/moment/second etc
▪ Wait a minute. I forgot to turn off the lights.
▪ Wait a second, don’t rush off!
▷ just a minute/second /ˌdʒʌst ə ˈmɪnə̇t, ˈsekənd/
say this when you want someone to wait a short time :
▪ Just a minute, I’m almost ready.
▪ Just a second, let me just check I’ve got my keys with me.
▷ hold on also hang on especially British /ˌhəʊld ˈɒn, ˌhæŋ ˈɒn/
use this to tell someone to wait for a short time :
▪ Hold on - I haven’t finished yet.
hold on a minute/moment/second etc
▪ Hang on a minute while I find her phone number.
▷ wait and see /ˌweɪt ən ˈsiː/
use this to tell someone to be patient because they will find out about something later :
▪ ‘So what’s this surprise you’ve got for me then?’ ‘Wait and see.’
▪ I’m not going to tell you who else I’ve invited - you’ll just have to wait and see.
▷ see how things go /ˌsiː haʊ θɪŋz ˈgəʊ/ [verb phrase]
say this when you are advising someone to wait before deciding something, in order to see how the situation develops :
▪ Let’s load up the program and see how things go.
▪ See how things go for another week, and if you’re no better we’ll change the treatment.
▷ wait up /ˌweɪt ˈʌp/ American
use this to tell someone to stop, because you want to talk to them or go with them :
▪ Wait up, you guys! I can’t walk that fast.
▷ I’ll be right with you/be right there /aɪl biː ˌraɪt ˈwɪð juː, biː ˌraɪt ˈðeəʳ/
say this when you want someone to know that you will be able to see them or talk to them very soon :
▪ I’m sorry for the delay, sir - I’ll be right with you.
▪ Hang your coat up and make yourself at home - I’ll be right there.
▷ bear with me /ˈbeəʳ wɪð miː/ formal
use this to ask someone to wait patiently while you explain something or while you finish what you are doing :
▪ If you’ll just bear with me, I’ll explain.
▪ Bear with me for just a couple of minutes while I find my notes.
▷ hold your horses /ˌhəʊld jɔːʳ ˈhɔːʳsə̇z/
say this to someone who is hurrying too much, when you want them to slow down :
▪ Hold your horses - I haven’t even said I’ll do the job yet!
▷ all in good time /ˌɔːl ɪn gʊd ˈtaɪm/ spoken
say this to someone who wants you to hurry, to tell them that you are not going to :
▪ ‘When are we going to open the presents?’ ‘All in good time.’
3. a period of time when you have to wait
▷ wait /weɪt/ [singular noun]
▪ 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.
a ten-minute/two-hour etc wait
▪ After a four-hour wait at the airport, we finally got on a flight to New York.
▪ A lot of patients face a two-year wait for treatment.
4. to make someone wait
▷ keep somebody waiting /ˌkiːp somebody ˈweɪtɪŋ/ [verb phrase]
to make someone wait, especially by arriving late :
▪ I’m sorry to keep you waiting.
▪ She was annoyed because she had been kept waiting.
keep sb waiting for
▪ Lott kept us waiting for 40 minutes while he attended another meeting.
▷ make somebody wait /ˌmeɪk somebody ˈweɪt/ [verb phrase]
to deliberately make someone wait :
▪ Shaw made us wait a few days before giving us an answer.
▪ They made me wait for half an hour before allowing me to see my father.
▷ keep somebody in suspense /ˌkiːp somebody ɪn səˈspens/ [verb phrase]
to make someone wait anxiously or excitedly before you tell them something that they are eager to know :
▪ Come on - don’t keep us in suspense - who won?
▪ The audience is kept in suspense to the very end of the play.
▷ keep somebody hanging on /ˌkiːp somebody ˌhæŋɪŋ ˈɒn/ [verb phrase]
to make someone wait a long time for something that you are not actually going to give them :
▪ They kept me hanging on for three weeks before they finally told me they weren’t going to give me the job.
5. when you stand in a line of people waiting
▷ queue (up) /ˌkjuː (ˈʌp)/ [intransitive verb] British
to stand in a line of people who are all waiting for the same thing :
▪ Students were queuing up at the bus-stop.
queue (up) to do something
▪ It’s worth queuing up to get the best tickets.
queue (up) for
▪ I hope we don’t have to queue for tickets.
▷ stand/wait in line /ˌstænd, ˌweɪt ɪn ˈlaɪn/ [verb phrase] American
to stand in a line of people who are all waiting for the same thing :
▪ Go and wait in line like everyone else.
stand/wait in line for
▪ There were about 50 people standing in line for tickets outside the club.
stand/wait in line to do something
▪ People stood in line to touch him, believing his body had healing powers.
▷ line up /ˌlaɪn ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if people line up, they go and stand in a line and wait to do something or be given something :
▪ The guard ordered us to line up by the wall.
line up to do something
▪ Christopher and the other children lined up to receive their awards.
▷ queue British /line American /kjuː, laɪn/ [countable noun]
a group of people, standing one behind the other, who are all waiting for the same thing :
▪ The queue went right round the block.
queue for
▪ There was a long queue for the toilets.
the front/back of the queue/line
▪ After waiting for an hour, we finally got to the front of the line.
join a queue/get in line
▪ I joined the queue for a taxi.
▪ Two people tried to get in line ahead of us.
▷ be in the queue British /be in (the) line American /biː ɪn ðə ˈkjuː, biː ɪn (ðə) ˈlaɪn/ [verb phrase]
to be waiting in a line with people who are all waiting for the same thing :
▪ While I was in the queue at the bank I met an old school friend.
▪ Kerry started talking to the people who were in line ahead of us.
be in the queue for
▪ Several people in the line for the rollercoaster gave up and left.
▷ jump the queue /ˌdʒʌmp ðə ˈkjuː/ [verb phrase] British
to get something before other people who have been waiting for it longer than you :
▪ My official uniform meant that we could jump the queue.
▪ While ordinary citizens had to wait months to get hospital treatment, government officials were able to jump the queue.
▷ push in/cut in /ˌpʊʃ ˈɪn, ˌkʌt, ˈɪn/ [intransitive phrasal verb] informal
to join a line in front of other people who are already waiting, so that you get something before them :
▪ I hate people who push in in front of me!
▪ Hey, that guy just cut in line!
6. when someone is waiting for something to happen
▷ patient /ˈpeɪʃ ə nt/ [adjective]
able to wait calmly without becoming annoyed or bored :
▪ I’m sure she’ll write soon. Just try to be patient.
▪ Halle was patient, waiting for the boy to finish his explanation.
patiently [adjective]
▪ The audience waited patiently for the show to begin.
patience [uncountable noun]
when you can wait calmly without becoming annoyed or bored :
▪ It’s easy to grow your own plants - all you need is a little time and patience.
▷ impatient /ɪmˈpeɪʃ ə nt/ [adjective]
becoming annoyed because you have been waiting for a long time :
▪ Don’t be so impatient. I’m working as fast as I can.
▪ By this time there was a queue of impatient customers waiting to be served.
impatient for
▪ The new minister was almost immediately the object of attack by politicians and press impatient for results.
get/become/grow impatient (with)
▪ I could see that Max was getting impatient with me.
impatiently [adjective]
▪ The customs officer waved them on impatiently.
impatience [uncountable noun]
annoyance caused by waiting for a long time :
▪ People were beginning to show signs of impatience.
▷ look forward to /ˌlʊk ˈfɔːʳwəʳd tuː/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to wait happily or excitedly for something that is going to happen :
▪ I’m really looking forward to this trip to Japan.
▪ We used to look forward to the weekends because that was when we could spend some time together.
look forward to to doing something
▪ I look forward to meeting you next month.
▷ can’t wait /ˌkɑːnt ˈweɪtǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase]
if you say you can’t wait, you mean you feel excited and impatient because something good is going to happen and you want it to happen as soon as possible :
▪ We’re flying to Austria on Friday. I can’t wait!
can’t wait for
▪ I can’t wait for Christmas!
▪ School is so boring. I can’t wait for the holidays to come.
can’t wait to do something
▪ I can’t wait to see their new house.
▪ She couldn’t wait to quit her job and get married.
▷ hold your breath /ˌhəʊld jɔːʳ ˈbreθ/ [verb phrase]
to wait anxiously to see what is going to happen, especially when there is a possibility that something bad may happen :
▪ Rachel held her breath as she waited for his answer.
▪ The art world will be holding its breath to see how much these paintings sell for at auction.
▷ expectant /ɪkˈspektənt/ [adjective usually before noun]
waiting hopefully and excitedly for something to happen :
▪ Bright expectant faces were turned upward toward the stage.
▪ Expectant crowds waited outside the theatre.
▪ The darkened assembly room became suddenly hushed and expectant as the picture appeared on the screen.
expectantly [adverb]
▪ Patrick looked at me expectantly.