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

• 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

Even those efforts however suggest waiting years until a surplus had been achieved, before enacting reform.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

Victims’ families are waiting for a Texas Supreme Court decision on whether to lift that stay.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

Musk's lawyer, Steven Molo, was waiting for him, asking if he had always told the truth.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

In January, Musk had said that Neuralink was waiting for regulatory approval to implant the BCI meant to restore patients’ vision.

From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026

Brickbane continued, but Clare’s little mind returned to the revelation that his mother was not waiting for him in the Afterlife.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• accessible
• apt
• handy
• qualified
• ripe