waiting

[ wey-ting ]

noun

1. a period of waiting; pause, interval, or delay.

adjective

1. serving or being in attendance:

   waiting man;

   waiting maid;

   waiting woman.

Other Words From

• waiting·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of waiting¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English (noun); wait, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in waiting, in attendance, as upon a royal personage.

Example Sentences

Should lightning strike and Hillary Clinton forgoes a presidential run, Democrats have a nominee in waiting.

From The Daily Beast

A running joke inside the tribe is that the group is like that club with a hundred people waiting outside to get in.

From The Daily Beast

The first day of Liberty, I was hanging around waiting for Ford to come in.

From The Daily Beast

Instead, black models are required to remain meekly, silently off stage, waiting for a turn that may never come.

From The Daily Beast

In a show about single women, Sex and The City was always in a rush to get to the altar—and with a man there waiting.

From The Daily Beast

Sol laughed out of his whiskers, with a big, loose-rolling sound, and sat on the porch without waiting to be asked.

From Project Gutenberg

We all rose to our feet, and he shook hands with everybody without waiting to be introduced.

From Project Gutenberg

At Felipe's cry, the women waiting in the hall hurried in, wailing aloud as their first glance showed them all was over.

From Project Gutenberg

After a bit of waiting, Mac decided that the smoke was floating from a certain direction, and we began to edge carefully that way.

From Project Gutenberg

Sam sat opposite him in perfect silence, waiting, with eager curiosity, for the termination of the scene.

From Project Gutenberg