waiting

American  

[wey-ting] / ˈweɪ tɪŋ /

noun

1. a period of waiting; pause, interval, or delay.

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adjective

1. serving or being in attendance.

   waiting man;

   waiting maid;

   waiting woman.

idioms

1. in waiting, in attendance, as upon a royal personage.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• waitingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of waiting

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English (noun); see wait, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Explanation

The act of standing by without acting as you anticipate a future event or time is waiting. Waiting can be agonizing, especially waiting for something vitally important, like election results — or your birthday. The word waiting is a noun used for a kind of action that's characterized by inaction or delay: "Generations of waiting produced no change in a city's discriminatory policies, so citizens planned a protest march." It's also a useful adjective, for things like waiting rooms, waiting lists, and waiting periods. In the old days the word was also used for certain servants, lords or ladies "in waiting" who waited on their employers.

Example Sentences

A fundamental question in recent days was whether the state’s 23.2 million registered voters, who all received mail-in ballots, were waiting to vote or if they would skip the election because of malaise.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

That helped the Fed justify waiting to hike interest rates.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

Travolta’s perspective on life and death seems collective, almost optimistic, as if dying is merely a long-haul journey between this existence and the next, with everyone he’s loved and lost waiting there with open arms.

From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026

Rizzo, now a 48-year-old construction manager who lives outside Houston, spent countless hours on FIFA’s sales website, waiting in line, only to run into technical issues or jaw-dropping sticker shock.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

I could go to the office, since I know there’s another pile of stuff waiting for me, but Nate still hasn’t responded to any of my messages.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• accessible
• apt
• handy
• qualified
• ripe