can't wait

Idioms

Be very eager, anxious, or impatient, as in We can't wait for the baseball season to begin or I can't wait to see Dad—it's been a year. While the literal sense of being unable to wait (for lack of time) is much older, this figurative usage dates only from about 1930.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Former Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez, in his first season at Whittier, has already discovered a talent he can’t wait to develop.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2026

She can't wait to rejoin her two older children – aged five and two-and-a-half - and her husband when she gets discharged.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026

In response, designer brand Lurelly posted: “If by surgeon you mean her new born baby. I can’t wait for a world where we root for each other rather than assume.”

From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026

The investing world seems like it’s split into two camps right now—those who can’t wait to buy history’s biggest IPO and others who wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

Thaya Jaan is going to have to stay at the hospital for a few days, and I can’t wait to talk to him when he gets home.

From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023