wait — OET · 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 about, 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, hang about, 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, succour, 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, hold-up, 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.

wait Oxford Dictionary of English