definitions

waiting

[ wey-ting ]
/ ˈweɪ tɪŋ /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR waiting ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

adjective

serving or being in attendance: waiting man; waiting maid; waiting woman.

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RELATED WORDS

postponed, delayed, negotiated, protracted, prolonged, retarded, charged, remanded, stalled, scrubbed, renegotiated, indebted

Nearby words

waitangi day, waitangi tribunal, waite, waiter, waitering, waiting, waiting for godot, waiting game, waiting in the wings, waiting list, waiting period

Idioms

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

Origin of waiting

1150–1200; Middle English (noun); see wait, -ing1, -ing2

Related forms

wait·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Idioms and Phrases with in waiting

in waiting

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]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.