wait on

verb

1. to serve at the table of

2. to act as an attendant or servant to

3. archaic,  to visit

interjection

1. stop! hold on!

Idioms and Phrases

Also, wait upon . Serve, minister to, especially for personal needs or in a store or restaurant. For example, Guests at the Inn should not expect to be waited on—they can make their own beds and get their own breakfast . [Early 1500s]

Make a formal call on, as in They waited on the ambassador . [c. 1500]

Also, wait upon . Await, remain in readiness for, as in We're waiting on their decision to close the school . This usage, a synonym of wait for , dates from the late 1600s but in the mid-1800s began to be criticized by many authorities. However, by the late 1900s it had come into increasingly wider use and is again largely accepted.

Example Sentences

The spotlight on USC burned brightly from Day 1 last fall, the whole hoops world seemingly waiting on JuJu Watkins to lift the Trojans to a national title.

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She spent a large part of her wait on a couch in a curtained-off area near A&E where there was no privacy.

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Given lingering uncertainties, and inflation still above target at 3%, Powell on Wednesday also could simply keep investors waiting on the edge of their seats heading into the holidays, Miskin said.

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“But I’m not going to wait on the sidelines, because there is an urgency of now.”

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There is $5,000 in the Roth that I can pull without tax consequences and $15,000 not currently invested in any stock while waiting on a pullback on any enticing market opportunities.

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