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

But we shouldn’t pretend that every whiplash claim is a miniature trial in waiting.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

It is spoken in hospital corridors and courtrooms, in waiting rooms and at kitchen tables, by those who keep pressing, keep trying, keep hoping.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026

As he spoke in the Oval Office on Monday, Vice President JD Vance hovered uncomfortably behind Trump’s left shoulder like a cartoon buzzard in waiting.

From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026

Phil will be without a music director, and with no one in waiting in the wings.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

The ladies in waiting stopped beneath the balcony, batting their eyelashes at the guards.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

Related Words

• delayed
• negotiated
• postponed