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

See Examples For:

wait out

As companies linked to housing wait out the market, they are also contending with threats from tech.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

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

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

“Twist the knob, then move out of my way. I want Duke to see that I was the first one to arrive. You others can just wait out here until he’s finished thanking me.”

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

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