wait on

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English

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Alternative forms

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Verb

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wait on (third-person singular simple present waits on, present participle waiting on, simple past and past participle waited on)

  1. To provide a service to (someone); to act as a servant to (someone); to serve (someone) as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant.
    Synonyms: attend to; see also Thesaurus:serve
    Is someone waiting on you yet?
  2. (colloquial) To wait for (a person).
    I'm waiting on you before we can leave.
  3. (colloquial) To wait for (a thing, or an event to take place).
    I'm waiting on the light to change.
    • 1874, Thomas Hardy, “Oak's Advancement— A Great Hope”, in Far from the Madding Crowd. [], volume II, London: Smith, Elder & Co., [], →OCLC, page 223:
      [] a time was coming [] when his waiting on events should have its reward.
    • 1900 December – 1901 October, Rudyard Kipling, chapter 13, in Kim (Macmillan’s Colonial Library; no. 414), London: Macmillan and Co., published 1901, →OCLC, page 340:
      [] with grass mats over their heads and the raindrops puddling in their footprints, [they] waited on the weather.
    • 1952, Daphne Du Maurier, “The Birds”, in Stories of Suspense[2], New York: Scholastic Book Services, published 1972, page 17:
      It was as though they [the gulls] waited upon some signal; as though some decision had yet to be given.
  4. To be in store for (someone).
    Synonym: await
  5. (archaic) To visit (someone) as a courtesy, on business or for ceremony.
    Synonyms: attend, call on
  6. (archaic) To occur as a consequence of (something), to result from (something).
  7. (archaic) To carry out or perform (a duty, function, etc.).
    Synonym: attend to
  8. (falconry, of a hawk) To fly above its master, waiting till game is sprung.
  9. (colloquial, US, archaic) To court (someone).
  10. (archaic) To obey and pay attention to (someone); to follow (a leader); to attend to (someone); to be subject to (someone).
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Translations

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