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

Learner drivers are now only able to swap their test to the three centres nearest to their original booking location in a bid to cut down waiting times.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

“A lot of people who have been waiting for this moment for a very long time unfortunately aren’t able to get into the building,” Hart said.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

“I’ve gone through all this work, been waiting, for nothing,” she said.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

Now the town is waiting for a new owner to emerge.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

For a moment I was a little girl again, waiting for him to tuck the blankets tight.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• accessible
• apt
• handy
• qualified
• ripe