await
English
Etymology
From Middle English awaiten, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 1 should be a valid language code; the value "ONF." is not valid. See WT:LOL. awaitier (“to lie in wait for, watch, observe”), originally especially with a hostile sense; itself from a- (“to”) + waitier (“to watch”).[1] More at English wait.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /əˈwɛɪt/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -eɪt
Verb
await (third-person singular simple present awaits, present participle awaiting, simple past and past participle awaited)
- (transitive, formal) To wait for.
- 1674, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost:
- Betwixt these rocky pillars Gabriel sat, / Chief of the angelic guards, awaiting night;
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
- I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town.
- I await your reply to my letter.
- (transitive) To expect.
- (transitive) To be in store for; to be ready or in waiting for.
- Glorious rewards await the good in heaven; eternal suffering awaits mortal sinners in hell.
- 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars:
- Standing foursquare in the heart of the town, at the intersection of the two main streets, a "jog" at each street corner left around the market-house a little public square, which at this hour was well occupied by carts and wagons from the country and empty drays awaiting hire.
- 1674, John Milton, “Book XI”, in Paradise Lost:
- O Eve, some further change awaits us nigh.
- (transitive, intransitive) To serve or attend; to wait on, wait upon.
- (intransitive) To watch, observe.
- (intransitive) To wait; to stay in waiting.
Usage notes
- As await means to wait for, it is not followed by "for". *I am awaiting for your reply is therefore incorrect.
Synonyms
- (wait for): wait for, anticipate, listen (of a sound); See also Thesaurus:wait for
- (serve or attend): attend to, service; See also Thesaurus:serve
Translations
transitive: to wait for
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transitive: to expect
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transitive: to be in store for
to serve
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intransitive: to watch
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intransitive, to stay in waiting
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Noun
await (plural awaits)
- (obsolete) A waiting for; ambush.
- (obsolete) Watching, watchfulness, suspicious observation.
- Template:RQ:Mlry MrtArthr1
- Also, madame, syte you well that there be many men spekith of oure love in this courte, and have you and me gretely in awayte, as thes Sir Aggravayne and Sir Mordred.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.6:
- For all that night, the whyles the Prince did rest […] He watcht in close awayt with weapons prest […].
- Template:RQ:Mlry MrtArthr1
References
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “await”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/eɪt
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English formal terms
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English intransitive verbs
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses