wait out

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.

Example Sentences

The guide had instructed residents to flock to predetermined “public safe refuges” in town, such as the baseball field at the Community House or the large parking lot at the state park, to wait out fires.

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As for Lord Fredrick, in Miss Lumley’s day, it was the custom for a father-to-be to wait out these sorts of occasions at his gentlemen’s club, where he could smoke a pipe, drink a glass of brandy, talk politics, and so on.

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And, at least in theory, giant institutions should be able to survive almost any bear market and wait out any delay in getting their money back; you might not be.

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That is a significant about-face from last year, when applications to U.S. business schools surged as American professionals who were frustrated by the white-collar job market tried to wait out sluggish hiring by going back to school.

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Rodriguez said he thinks the government is simply trying to put up “a smoke screen to wait out or at least frighten American troops a little bit so they don’t come in. They know it’s a lost cause but they’re trying to buy time.”

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