waiting

[wey-ting]

noun

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

adjective

1. serving or being in attendance.

   waiting man;

   waiting maid;

   waiting woman.

Other Word Forms

• waitingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of waiting¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

Example Sentences

After a loss, the grieving Everyman finds no option but to keep living—he is, as one character says, “just waiting to see what we’ve been left here for.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

At the “Hood Summit” in Las Vegas this fall, a line of customers snaked around the room, waiting to shake Tenev’s hand and snag a selfie with him.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I’m thankful for nights on the couch with my roommates watching “Dancing With the Stars,” when we all pretend to be expert judges and forget about whatever exam or project is waiting for us.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The thrust of the Chancellor's address will be three cuts – cutting the cost of living, cutting NHS waiting lists and cutting government debt.

Read more on BBC

Those hedge-fund bond investors could have sold in October — and if you think sophisticated investors sat around waiting to see how the election played out, I have some Argentine bonds to sell you.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• accessible 
• apt 
• handy 
• qualified 
• ripe