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wait out

 - 2 dictionary results
wait   (wāt)   
v.   wait·ed, wait·ing, waits

v.   intr.

    1. To remain or rest in expectation: waiting for the guests to arrive. See Synonyms at stay1.

    2. To tarry until another catches up.

  2. To remain or be in readiness: lunch waiting on the table.

  3. To remain temporarily neglected, unattended to, or postponed: The trip will have to wait.

  4. To work as a waiter or waitress.

v.   tr.

  1. To remain or stay in expectation of; await: wait one's turn.

  2. Informal To delay (a meal or an event); postpone: They waited lunch for us.

  3. To be a waiter or waitress at: wait tables.

n.  

  1. The act of waiting or the time spent waiting.

  2. Chiefly British

    1. One of a group of musicians employed, usually by a city, to play in parades or public ceremonies.

    2. One of a group of musicians or carolers who perform in the streets at Christmastime.

Phrasal Verb(s):
wait on/upon

  1. To serve the needs of; be in attendance on.

  2. To make a formal call on; visit.

  3. To follow as a result; depend on.

  4. To await: They're waiting on my decision.

wait outTo delay until the termination of: wait out a war; waited out the miniskirt craze.
wait up

  1. To postpone going to bed in anticipation of something or someone.

  2. Informal To stop or pause so that another can catch up: Let's wait up for the stragglers.


[Middle English waiten, from Old North French waitier, to watch, of Germanic origin; see weg- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

wait out

Delay until the end of something, as in They waited out the war in Paris. This expression comes from baseball, where it alludes to the batter refraining from swinging at pitches in the hope of being walked (getting to first base on balls). It was first recorded in 1909 and was transferred to other activities by the 1930s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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