wait out

Idioms  

1. Delay until the end of something, as in They waited out the war in Paris. This expression comes from baseball, where it alludes to the batter refraining from swinging at pitches in the hope of being walked (getting to first base on balls). It was first recorded in 1909 and was transferred to other activities by the 1930s.

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Example Sentences

Every shipment that makes it across the desert blunts the pressure from a closed strait and gives Gulf governments room to wait out the negotiations and shift the balance of power.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

That means farmers that don’t have the fertilizers already delivered won’t be able to wait out the price spikes.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

I had been driving west through downtown and stopped in Chinatown to wait out the morning congestion in a new café that used to be an old bistro.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026

They migrate thousands of kilometres to find stable sea ice during Antarctic summer to wait out what is called a "catastrophic moult" every year.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

“Everybody head home and stay safe. We’re shutting down production while we wait out this storm.”

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

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