wait — OAT · Shobdo

wait

verb

1 they waited in the airport for two hours:

stay, remain, rest, linger, loiter, dally, stop, stay put;

informal stick around, kick around;

archaic bide, tarry.

▷antonyms leave.

2 she had to wait until her passport came through:

stand by, hold back, be patient, bide one's time, hang fire, mark time, kill time, waste time, cool one's heels, kick one's heels, twiddle one's thumbs;

pause, stop, cease, halt, discontinue, rest;

informal hold on, hang around, sit tight, hold one's horses, sweat it out.

3 they were waiting for the kettle to boil:

await, look/watch out;

anticipate, expect, be ready, be in readiness;

long for, hope for, count the days until.

4 it will have to wait until we've got some money:

be postponed, be delayed, be put off, be held back, be deferred;

informal be put on the back burner, be put on ice.

5 informal we've waited dinner for forty minutes:

delay, postpone, put off, hold off, hold back, defer.

□ wait on

the men ate in silence, waited on by the two girls:

serve, attend to, tend, cater for/to, act as a waitress/waiter to;

accommodate, minister to, take care of, look after, see to, succor, pander to.

□ wait up

I'll be back late—don't wait up for me:

stay awake, stay up, keep vigil.

noun

we resigned ourselves to a long wait:

delay, holdup, period of waiting, interval, interlude, intermission, pause, break, stay, cessation, suspension, detention, check, stoppage, halt, interruption, lull, respite, recess, postponement, discontinuation, moratorium, hiatus, gap, lapse, rest, entr'acte.