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definitions

await

[ uh-weyt ]
/ əˈweɪt /
||
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.

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RELATED WORDS

anticipate, attend, stay, sweat, hope

Nearby words

  1. aw,
  2. aw-shucks,
  3. awa,
  4. awa',
  5. awacs,
  6. awaji,
  7. awake,
  8. awaken,
  9. awakening,
  10. award

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

Examples from the Web for await

British Dictionary definitions for await

await

/ (əˈweɪt) /

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

await

v.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper