wait
    n 1: time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay
         caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the action"
         [syn: delay, hold, time lag, postponement, wait]
    2: the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while
       expecting something); "the wait was an ordeal for him" [syn:
       wait, waiting]
    v 1: stay in one place and anticipate or expect something; "I
         had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets"
    2: wait before acting; "the scientists held off announcing their
       results until they repeated the experiment" [syn: wait,
       hold off, hold back]
    3: look forward to the probable occurrence of; "We were
       expecting a visit from our relatives"; "She is looking to a
       promotion"; "he is waiting to be drafted" [syn: expect,
       look, await, wait]
    4: serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant; "I'm waiting
       on tables at Maxim's" [syn: wait, waitress]

Wait \Wait\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waited; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Waiting.] [OE. waiten, OF. waitier, gaitier, to watch,
   attend, F. guetter to watch, to wait for, fr. OHG. wahta a
   guard, watch, G. wacht, from OHG. wahh[=e]n to watch, be
   awake. [root]134. See Wake, v. i.]
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   1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [Obs.]
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            "But [unless] ye wait well and be privy,
            I wot right well, I am but dead," quoth she.
                                                  --Chaucer.
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   2. To stay or rest in expectation; to stop or remain
      stationary till the arrival of some person or event; to
      rest in patience; to stay; not to depart.
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            All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till
            my change come.                       --Job xiv. 14.
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            They also serve who only stand and wait. --Milton.
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            Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait.
                                                  --Dryden.
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   To wait on or To wait upon.
      (a) To attend, as a servant; to perform services for; as,
          to wait on a gentleman; to wait on the table.
          "Authority and reason on her wait." --Milton. "I must
          wait on myself, must I?" --Shak.
      (b) To attend; to go to see; to visit on business or for
          ceremony.
      (c) To follow, as a consequence; to await. "That ruin that
          waits on such a supine temper." --Dr. H. More.
      (d) To look watchfully at; to follow with the eye; to
          watch. [R.] "It is a point of cunning to wait upon him
          with whom you speak with your eye." --Bacon.
      (e) To attend to; to perform. "Aaron and his sons . . .
          shall wait on their priest's office." --Num. iii. 10.
      (f) (Falconry) To fly above its master, waiting till game
          is sprung; -- said of a hawk. --Encyc. Brit.
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Wait \Wait\, v. t.
   1. To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation
      of; to await; as, to wait orders.
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            Awed with these words, in camps they still abide,
            And wait with longing looks their promised guide.
                                                  --Dryden.
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   2. To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany;
      to await. [Obs.]
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   3. To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with
      ceremony or respect. [Obs.]
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            He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all
            His warlike troops, to wait the funeral. --Dryden.
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            Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee,
            And everlasting anguish be thy portion. --Rowe.
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   4. To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; -- said of a
      meal; as, to wait dinner. [Colloq.]
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Wait \Wait\, n. [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch,
   watching, guard, from OHG. wahta. See Wait, v. i.]
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   1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt.
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            There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican
            town of El Paso.                      --S. B.
                                                  Griffin.
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   2. Ambush. "An enemy in wait." --Milton.
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   3. One who watches; a watchman. [Obs.]
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   4. pl. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used
      in the singular. [Obs.] --Halliwell.
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   5. pl. Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early
      morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical
      watchmen. [Written formerly wayghtes.]
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            Hark! are the waits abroad?           --Beau. & Fl.
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            The sound of the waits, rude as may be their
            minstrelsy, breaks upon the mild watches of a winter
            night with the effect of perfect harmony. --W.
                                                  Irving.
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   To lay wait, to prepare an ambuscade.

   To lie in wait. See under 4th Lie.
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