American English
/weɪt̚/
One syllable.
to stay in a place or remain ready until a person arrives or something happens
Practice out loudto stay in a place or remain ready until a person arrives or something happens
I’m waiting for the bus.
Please wait until Monday.
Say “wait for me,” not “wait me.”
wait for a bus · wait in line · wait your turn · wait patiently
wait for + person/thing
wait until + time/event
to delay doing something until later or until you know more
Let’s wait to decide.
Wait before you open it.
wait to hear back · wait for approval · wait for the right time · wait before deciding
wait to + verb
wait before + verb-ing
a period of time spent staying somewhere until someone or something arrives or something happens
There was a long wait for a table.
The wait was only ten minutes.
a long wait · a short wait · wait time · the wait is over
a/an + adjective + wait
the wait for + person/thing
to serve customers, especially in a restaurant or store
She waits on customers at a busy café.
He waited tables during college.
wait on customers · wait tables
wait on + customer
wait tables
to wait before deciding what will happen
We’ll wait and see what happens.
to be very excited about something that will happen soon
I can’t wait to see you.
to ask someone to pause briefly or to show surprise
Wait a minute—this isn’t my bag.