wait and see

Idioms  

1. Bide one's time for events to run their course, as in Do you think they'll raise taxes?—We'll have to wait and see. This expression was first recorded in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719): “We had no remedy but to wait and see.” In Britain the phrase became associated with Prime Minister H.H. Asquith, who in 1910 so often said it to the opposition regarding an impending bill that he became known as “Old Wait and See.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wait and see

"Right now I'm traumatized. I've never been through anything like this before," said Fernandez, adding that he is going to "wait and see... if we can put the house back together again."

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Critics, however, say that is unlikely - and residents will have to wait and see what the impact on their council tax bills will be.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

“You need to wait and see the reports to know if it’s justified or not,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

“When we wait and see, we are losing more students,” Pierson said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

He explained that if a boy wanted to go he filled out an application, and then he had to wait and see if he was accepted.

From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau