Waiting

//ˈweɪtɪŋ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Watching, observation; keeping watch, guarding. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  2. 2
    the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something) wordnet
  3. 3
    The act of staying or remaining in expectation. countable, uncountable

    "Waiting for any news in a waiting room. (gerund)"

  4. 4
    Attendance, service. countable, uncountable

    "But it had never occurred to him that he should live in any other than what he would have called an ordinary way, with green glasses for hock, and excellent waiting at table."

Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of wait form-of, gerund, participle, present

    "Your guest has been waiting for you. (progressive) They hurried into the waiting car. (participle used as adjective)"

Adjective
  1. 1
    being and remaining ready and available for use wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
about to beagapeagogall agogalready in sightanticipant

Example

More examples

"We men are used to waiting for the women."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English waitinge, waytynge, waitende, weytende, waitand, waytand, equivalent to wait + -ing.

Etymology 2

From Middle English waitynge, waytynge, equivalent to wait + -ing.

Related phrases

call waitingin waitingin-waitingready and waitingwaiting areawaiting gamewaiting modewaiting periodwaiting roomwaiting shedwaiting shelterwaiting time

More for "waiting"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.