waiting game

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noun

a stratagem in which action on a matter is reserved for or postponed to a later time, allowing one to wait for a more advantageous time to act or to see what develops in the meantime.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of waiting game

First recorded in 1885–90

Words nearby waiting game

waiter, waitering, wait for the other shoe to drop, waiting, Waiting for Godot, waiting game, waiting in the wings, waiting list, waiting period, waiting room, waitlist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use waiting game in a sentence

Part of the waiting game is seeing in practice what “according to Islamic law” really means.
Women’s rights have an uncertain future in Afghanistan|Jen Kirby|August 24, 2021|Vox
The same story is playing out this time, and we’re playing the same waiting game because of how difficult it is to predict when and where this thing will reenter.
A Chinese rocket is falling back to Earth—but we don’t know where it will land|Neel V. Patel|May 7, 2021|MIT Technology Review
“Eventually something has to turn up, but it’s a waiting game.”
This ancient sea reptile had a slicing bite like no other|Jake Buehler|February 2, 2021|Science News
I’ve been listening to it a lot lately as we approach the end of 2020 because I think it captures an important urgency in media and marketing’s present reality — the waiting game is over.
The end of the waiting game|jim cooper|January 4, 2021|Digiday

The post The end of the waiting game appeared first on Digiday.
The end of the waiting game|jim cooper|January 4, 2021|Digiday
Many in the room felt like they were caught in a waiting game, yet few were in the mood to wait.
The Waiting Game|Sarah Wildman|November 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The nightmare waiting game Charlene and her husband, Robert, now find themselves in began on a night that remains vague at best.
Vanished From Her College Campus|Evie M. Salomon|September 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
“Kate has played a brilliant waiting game,” says one royal source.
Citizen Kate|The Daily Beast|April 3, 2011|DAILY BEAST
It was now a waiting game, and no one knew what the next few days would bring.
When Everything Changed|Gayle Tzemach Lemmon|March 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
More couples than ever are playing the waiting game, a game that, for women, is something of a gamble.
Waity Katie's Marriage Gamble|Hannah Seligson|November 18, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The Indian is a great hand at playing a waiting game and Yellow Elk was no exception to this rule.
The Boy Land Boomer|Ralph Bonehill
Thus did he first learn how much better than men women play a waiting game.
The Forsyte Saga, Volume III.|John Galsworthy
We could see that it was a waiting game that Don Rafael was playing.
Roads of Destiny|O. Henry
Stenovics's mind excelled in the waiting game, the slow, tortuous approach, the inch-by-inch advance of leisurely diplomacy.
Sophy of Kravonia|Anthony Hope
The thought that the tedious waiting game which he had played so long might be ended did not elate him.
'Me-Smith'|Caroline Lockhart

British Dictionary definitions for waiting game

waiting game

noun

the postponement of action or decision in order to gain the advantage

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with waiting game

waiting game

see play a waiting game.