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definitions

waiting

[wey-ting]
See more synonyms for waiting on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a period of waiting; pause, interval, or delay.
adjective
  1. serving or being in attendance: waiting man; waiting maid; waiting woman.
Idioms
  1. in waiting, in attendance, as upon a royal personage.

Origin of waiting

1150–1200; Middle English (noun); see wait, -ing1, -ing2
Related formswait·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for in waiting

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