in waiting

Idioms  

1. In attendance, especially on a royal personage. For example, The prelates who were in waiting asked him to take the last rites. This usage has become less common with the diminution of royalty and royal courts but still survives. [Late 1600s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in waiting

We're too quick to write off players and we can also be too quick to brand them as stars in waiting.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

A plastic crate holds more wood in waiting.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

If no one sparks a contest, then Burnham will be crowned Labour leader -- and prime minister in waiting -- at a special conference on July 17.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

Until earlier this month, the 56-year-old wasn’t even a member of parliament, let alone the prime minister in waiting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

Maids in waiting and my mother passed it from hand to hand, admiring it, engaging they would buy it.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

Related Words

• delayed
• negotiated
• postponed