wait

Everyday

1. To wait means to stay where you are, or not do something, until something happens or someone comes. tree →
2. A wait is the time you stay. tree →
3. «Wait for it», «can't wait» mean someone is excited about something coming soon. tree →
4. To wait on people is to serve them food, as in a restaurant. tree →
5. (casual) «Wait, what?» shows surprise; «wait up» means wait for me to catch up; «hang on», «hold on» and «hold your horses» mean wait. tree →
6. (casual) «No wait» or «wait no» starts a self-correction: «she had 5 — no wait, 6.» tree →
7. (rough) «You wait!» or «just you wait» is a threat of trouble later. tree →
8. (formal) «Await», «remain pending» and «a period of waiting» are stiff words: «Passengers awaited the service for 15 minutes.» tree →

In the lessons

In school maths: elapsed time; waiting in line; how long someone waited from one clock time to another; waiting times added in all. In everyday life: waiting for the bus, in a queue, for your turn, at the doctor's. In casual talk «wait» often marks that the speaker is correcting a number — the last number counts. In the exam voice: «the interval during which passengers awaited the service». Phrases: «wait for», «wait your turn», «can't wait», «wait a minute», «a long wait», «waiting room», «wait and see».

Examples

• They waited 15 minutes for the bus. tree →
• She waited from 2:00 to 2:45. tree →
• 12 people are waiting in line. tree →
• How long did he wait in all? tree →
• Please wait your turn. tree →
• I can't wait for the summer holidays! tree →
• Wait a minute, I left my bag on the bench. tree →
• There was a long wait at the doctor's. tree →
• 12 kids, wait no, 13 with me (casual, self-correction) tree →
• wait up!! my shoelace (casual) tree →
• Touch my bike again and you wait, mate. (rough) tree →
• Passengers awaited the service from 14:00 until 14:45; ascertain the duration of the wait. (formal exam) tree →
• He waited one hour, two hours. tree →

Note

«Wait for the bus», not «wait the bus». Do not confuse with «weight» (how heavy) — they sound the same. «Await» is a formal word with no «for». Maths: asks for a length of time; between two clock times subtract (end − start); waiting times of several parts are added. Trap: after «wait» or «no wait» in a sentence, the corrected (last) number is the real one. Safety: wait for the green man before you cross the road.

In Jewish tradition

In the Torah, "I wait for Thy salvation" means to hope for God's help, and "lying in wait" means hiding to attack someone. In the psalms, to wait means to hope in God. In Judges, "liers-in-wait" are men hidden to ambush.

Interpretation. Jacob's cry is read as hope in God's rescue. "Lying in wait" marks a killing as planned murder, unlike accidental killing, which allows escape to a city of refuge. Tradition reads the psalms' waiting for God as trust and patience.

Examples

• I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord. (Torah GEN.49.18, JPS 1917) tree →
• But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or hurled upon him any thing without lying in wait, (Torah NUM.35.22, JPS 1917) tree →
• And if he thrust him of hatred, or hurled at him any thing, lying in wait, so that he died; (Torah NUM.35.20, JPS 1917) tree →
• And now, Lord, what wait I for? (Writings PSA.39.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• And Israel set liers-in-wait against Gibeah round about. (Prophets JDG.20.29, JPS 1917) tree →
• Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. (Prophets JDG.16.9, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

«Wait for the bus», not «wait the bus». Do not confuse with «weight» (how heavy) — they sound the same. «Await» is a formal word with no «for». Maths: asks for a length of time; between two clock times subtract (end − start); waiting times of several parts are added. Trap: after «wait» or «no wait» in a sentence, the corrected (last) number is the real one. Safety: wait for the green man before you cross the road.