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wait-a-bit

American

[wayt-uh-bit] / ˈweɪt əˌbɪt /

noun

any of various plants bearing thorns or prickly appendages, as the grapple plant or the greenbrier.

wait-a-bit British

noun

any of various plants having sharp hooked thorns or similar appendages, esp the greenbrier and the grapple plant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of wait-a-bit

1775–85; translation of Afrikaans wag-'n-bietjie < Dutch wacht een beetje

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

wait-a-bit

But Kim Alexander, head of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, falls into the wait-a-bit camp.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2026

The whole system teems with "wait-a-bit" thorns; and in such rare cases when difficulties do not exist, some jack-in-office is certain to arrive with the sole object and intention of inventing them.

From On the Heels of De Wet by Lionel James

I believe you fell over a cliff and were caught in an armful of wait-a-bit bushes.

From The Hunted Woman by James Oliver Curwood

We were an odd pair of scallywags to look at, but as South African as a wait-a-bit bush.

From Greenmantle by John Buchan

I had a touch of fever and got light-headed, and it was all I could do to struggle through the thick grass and wait-a-bit thorns.

From The Moon Endureth: Tales and Fancies by John Buchan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023