wait

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. stay, linger, tarry, abide, remain, bide [one's time], sit tight, cool one's heels (sl.), sweat it out (sl.); dally, procrastinate, delay; serve, attend; await, expect, look for. See expectation.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. halt, interim, time wasted; see delay 1 , pause 1 , 2 .

v.

1. [To await]

Syn. expect, anticipate, tarry, pause, wait for, look for, delay for, watch for, pray for, abide, dally, remain, idle, bide one's time, mark time, fill time, wait up for, sit up for, stay up for, lie in wait for, ambush, lie low*, hole up*, hang around*, stick around*, cool one's heels*.

Ant. leave*, hurry*, act.

2. [To attend at table]

Syn. serve, deliver, tend, act as waiter, act as waitress, arrange, set, ready, place on the table, help, portion, bus dishes.

3. [To be left]

Syn. have left, be on the agenda, have to do; see remain 3 .

Syn.- wait suggests remaining in place in anticipation of something [wait for me at the library ] ; stay , a more general term, implies a continuing in a specified place [stay there until you hear from me ] ; remain specifically suggests a staying behind while others go [ he alone remained at home ] ; abide , now somewhat archaic, implies a staying fixed for a relatively long period, as in a settled residence [ he came for a visit and has been abiding here since ] ; tarry and linger imply a staying on after the required or expected time for departure, linger esp. implying that this is deliberate, as from reluctance to leave [ we tarried in town two days, he lingered at his sweetheart's door ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

delay, holdup, stop, halt, suspension, pause, layover.

II

v.

hold up, hold, stop, halt, suspend, pause, delay, procrastinate, linger, abide, bide one's time, *sweat it out, dally, *hang back, *hold the phone, *freeze.

ANT.: go, proceed, start

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To look forward to confidently. Also used with for: anticipate, await, bargain for (or on), count on, depend on (or upon), expect, look for. Informal: figure on. See SURPRISE. 2. To continue to be in a place: abide, bide, linger, remain, stay1, tarry. Informal: stick around. Idiom: stay put. See CONTINUE. 3. To stop temporarily and remain, as if reluctant to leave: abide, bide, linger, pause, stay1, tarry. See CONTINUE. 4. Informal. To put off until a later time: adjourn, defer1, delay, hold off, hold up, postpone, remit, shelve, stay1, suspend, table, waive. Idiom: put on ice. See DO. II noun An act or the time of waiting: waiting. See CONTINUE.