wait on
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Verb[edit]
wait on (third-person singular simple present waits on, present participle waiting on, simple past and past participle waited on)
- 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?
- c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
- How now, Simple! where have you been? I must wait on myself, must I?
- 1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter I, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 6:
- […] for such a large house there are very few servants, because master has never lived here much; and when he does come, being a bachelor, he needs little waiting on:
- 1942, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 9, in Dust Tracks on a Road[1], New York: Arno Press, published 1969, page 171:
- “Run on, fellow. You can’t get waited on in here.”
“I’ll stay right here until I do. I know my rights. […] I’ll get waited on all right, or sue the place.”
- (colloquial) To wait for (a person).
- I'm waiting on you before we can leave.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 27:14:
- Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart:
- 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXVI”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume VI, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC, page 89:
- Be pleased to write to me by Rogers; who will wait on you for your answer, at your own time.
- 1981, Jagger/Richards (lyrics and music), “Waiting On A Friend”, in Tattoo You, performed by The Rolling Stones:
- I'm not waiting on a lady / I'm just waiting on a friend
- (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.
- To be in store for (someone).
- Synonym: await
- 1796, Edmund Burke, “Letter I. On the Overtures of Peace.”, in Two Letters Addressed to a Member of the Present Parliament on the Proposals for Peace with the Regicide Directory of France, London: […] F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […], published 20 October 1796, →OCLC, page 62:
- the destruction that waits on Monarchs, who consider fidelity to them as the most degrading of all vices
- 1969, Maya Angelou, chapter 1, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings[3], New York: Random House, pages 9–10:
- Their wages wouldn’t even get them out of debt to my grandmother, not to mention the staggering bill that waited on them at the white commissary downtown.
- (archaic) To visit (someone) as a courtesy, on business or for ceremony.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter 13, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book 7, page 68:
- In the Evening our Commander sent a Message to Mr. Jones, that if a Visit would not be troublesome he would wait on him.
- 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter 6, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 42:
- The ladies of Longbourn soon waited on those of Netherfield. The visit was returned in due form.
- 1855, Frederick Douglass, chapter 25, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York, Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC, part II (Life as a Freeman), page 399:
- […] I went, as my custom was, into one of the best railroad carriages on the road. […] I was soon waited upon by the conductor, and ordered out;
- 1937, Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana[4], New York: Oxford University Press, published 1982, Part 3, p. 114:
- Lest [my resolve] should break down, I took a stiff dose of whisky and waited on the Governor early.
- (archaic) To occur as a consequence of (something), to result from (something).
- 1667, attributed to Richard Allestree, chapter 3, in The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety. […], London: […] R. Norton for T. Garthwait, […], →OCLC, page 49:
- that ruine which waits upon such a supine temper
- 1697, [William] Congreve, The Mourning Bride, a Tragedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act V, page 66:
- For Blessings ever wait on virtuous Deeds;
And tho’ a late, a sure Reward succeeds.
- 1812–1818, Lord Byron, “Canto 2”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. , London: John Murray,, stanza 98, page 118:
- What is the worst of woes that wait on age?
- (archaic) To carry out or perform (a duty, function, etc.).
- Synonym: attend to
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 3:10:
- Aaron and his sons […] shall wait on their priest’s office:
- (falconry, of a hawk) To fly above its master, waiting till game is sprung.
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
provide a service
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wait for a person to do something