in the wings

Idioms  

1. Also, waiting in the wings. Nearby in the background, available on short notice. For example, Some police were in the wings in case of trouble at the rally, or There are at least a dozen young managers waiting in the wings for Harold to retire. This expression alludes to the theater, where a player waits in the wings or backstage area, unseen by the audience, for his or her turn to come on stage. [Second half of 1800s]

---

Example Sentences

Marisa, Lucciano's mother, was stood in the wings with Ant and Dec while her father and son took to the stage for the ITV talent show.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

In addition to OpenAI and Anthropic, there’s talk that other major private tech companies such as Databricks, software firm Canva and payments giant Stripe could be waiting in the wings.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

This year marks a veritable museum-palooza as Los Angeles debuts four new major arts complexes, with three in the wings likely to open in advance of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

Investors may not have seen the end of last week’s market volatility, with some big automated funds waiting in the wings to push the sell button if the S&P 500 sees another big drop.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 9, 2026

I stand in the wings, dressed in a lush black tutu embellished with black feathers and blood-red flowers.

From "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina" by Michaela DePrince