await

[uh-weyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR await ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to wait for; expect; look for: He is still awaiting an answer.

to be in store for; be imminent: A pleasant surprise awaits her in today's mail.

Obsolete. to lie in wait for.

verb (used without object)

to wait, as in expectation.

Origin of await

1200–50; Middle English awaiten < Old North French awaitier, equivalent to a- a-⁵ + waitier to wait

Related formsa·wait·er, noun

Synonyms for await

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR await ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See expect.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for await

anticipate, attend, stay, sweat, hope

Examples from the Web for await

Contemporary Examples of await

The pyramids of Meroe await a day when stability will allow outsiders to peek at a forgotten ancient kingdom.
Egypt Ain’t The Only Pyramid Show In Town
Nina Strochlic
December 11, 2014
They are being held in a prison in Sicily and await judicial action.
Hundreds of Migrants are Reported Drowned by Traffickers Near Malta
Barbie Latza Nadeau
September 15, 2014
They will be subjected to inquisition, and will await resurrection in the grave like any normal Muslim.
An Ex-Radical's Open Letter to ISIS Fighters: Quit Now While You Can!
Maajid Nawaz
September 10, 2014
The officers warned my cowering Oma (grandma) what might await the cousin if she ever did return.
Survived Hitler, Returned to Germany
Steve North
May 25, 2014
And now, they await a potential appeals process while continuing to chip away at piles of litigation.
France Convicts Rwanda Genocidaire
Nina Strochlic
March 14, 2014

Historical Examples of await

Now they neared the foot of the shaft where the rest of the party seemed to await them.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Both will afford me encouragement and support in the vicissitudes which yet await me.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
But Posthumus will not await the proof for which he has asked.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
I stopped, thinking that as good a place as any to await developments.
A Woman Tenderfoot
Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
Having stabled the horses as I was bidden, I came back here to await them.
Fair Margaret
H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for await

await

verb

(tr) to wait for; expect

(tr) to be in store for

(intr) to wait, esp with expectation

(tr) obsolete to wait for in order to ambush

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for await

early 13c., awaiten, from Old North French awaitier (Old French agaitier) "to lie in wait for, watch, observe," from a- "to" (see ad-) + waitier "to watch" (see wait (v.)). Originally especially with a hostile sense. Related: Awaited; awaiting.