Lie in wait
verb
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To be hiding, waiting to ambush or attack someone, or simply to accost them unexpectedly. intransitive
"Nothing impressed me, so much, in my visits here (which were pretty numerous) as the uncommonly hard and cruel character of the audience, who resent the slightest defect, take nothing good-humouredly, seem to be always lying in wait for an opportunity to hiss, and spare the actresses as little as the actors."
- 2 wait in hiding to attack wordnet
Example
More examples"Nothing impressed me, so much, in my visits here (which were pretty numerous) as the uncommonly hard and cruel character of the audience, who resent the slightest defect, take nothing good-humouredly, seem to be always lying in wait for an opportunity to hiss, and spare the actresses as little as the actors."