waiting

American  

[wey-ting] / ˈweɪ tɪŋ /

noun

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

---

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

Waiting out the chaos may not be exciting.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Ian Hulme, from the ICO, said: "Waiting for performance issues or a ransom note to discover a breach is not acceptable. Proactive security is a legal requirement, not an optional extra."

From BBC • May 12, 2026

Waiting until they have more money, more knowledge, more confidence.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

Waiting for him were Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes and Reggie Smith, the heart of a lineup that would win a World Series a season later.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

“He dreaded the Waiting Room more than anything. If it had to happen to one of us, it should have been me.”

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

Related Words

• accessible
• apt
• handy
• qualified
• ripe