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

White and her daughter, who has cerebral palsy, were waiting in the bay for her husband to bring his car around when Mackay arrived for a consultation with a spinal surgeon.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

The wealthy Vanessa has spent her life in seclusion, waiting for Anatol, the lover who abandoned her 20 years earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh— still waiting to be sworn in—must decide whether the central bank can still assume the effects will be “transitory.”

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

He waved, hopped off, and skirted around the folks waiting to get on.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• accessible
• apt
• handy
• qualified
• ripe