wait

wait, await

名词 wait:

1. time during which some action is awaited
   同义词：delay, hold, time lag, postponement
2. the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
   同义词：waiting

动词 wait:

1. stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
2. wait before acting
   同义词：hold off, hold back
3. look forward to the probable occurrence of
   同义词：expect, look, await
4. serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant
   同义词：waitress

1. I waited in all day but they didn't arrive.
   我在家等了一天，他们却没来。
2. He kept us waiting for ages while he packed his luggage.
   他收拾行李，让我们等了好半天。
3. How long have you been waiting?
   你已经等候多久了？
4. I don't like this long wait.
   我不喜欢这种长时间的等待。

wait

v.（动词）
wait.ed,wait.ing,waits
v.intr.（不及物动词）

To remain or rest in expectation:
期待，等待：期望中保持或休息：
例句：
waiting for the guests to arrive.See Synonyms at stay
等待客人的到来参见 stay

To tarry until another catches up.
停留：滞留直至别人追上
To remain or be in readiness:
等待：保留或处于准备状态：
例句：
lunch waiting on the table.
午餐在桌上放着

To remain temporarily neglected, unattended to, or postponed:
延迟：暂时被忽略、不照料或推迟：
例句：
The trip will have to wait.
旅行还得推迟

To work as a waiter or waitress.
服侍：作招待或女招待
v.tr.（及物动词）
To remain or stay in expectation of; await:
等：期待某事；等：
例句：
wait one`s turn.
等待轮到自己

Informal To delay (a meal or an event); postpone:
【非正式用语】 推迟：推迟（就餐或事件）；阻延：
例句：
They waited lunch for us.
他们为我们而推迟午餐

To be a waiter or waitress at:
担任侍者：在…作招待或女招待：
例句：
wait tables.
在桌旁服务

n.（名词）
The act of waiting or the time spent waiting.
等：等的行为或等候的时间
Chiefly British
【多用于英国】
One of a group of musicians employed, usually by a city, to play in parades or public ceremonies.
公共乐队队员：常被一个城市雇佣的一队音乐家，在游行或公共仪式中演出
One of a group of musicians or carolers who perform in the streets at Christmastime.
沿街唱圣诗的人们：圣诞节时在街上演出的一乐队或唱圣歌的人

<常用词组>wait on 或
wait upon
To serve the needs of; be in attendance on.
满足…的需要；服侍
To make a formal call on; visit.
造访：正式拜访；访问
To follow as a result; depend on.
作为一个结果；依赖于
To await:
等待：
例句：
They`re waiting on my decision.
他们在等我的决定

wait out
To delay until the termination of:
推迟直至结束为止：
例句：
wait out a war; waited out the miniskirt craze.
直等到战争结束；等到迷你裙风潮过后

wait up
To postpone going to bed in anticipation of something or someone.
熬夜等候：为等待某事或某人而推迟睡觉
Informal To stop or pause so that another can catch up:
【非正式用语】 等：为使别人赶上而停止或暂停：
例句：
Let`s wait up for the stragglers.
让我们等等掉队的人

来源：
Middle English waiten
中古英语 waiten
from Old North French waitier [to watch]
源自 古法国北方方言 waitier [看]
[of Germanic origin] * see weg-
[日耳曼语源] *参见 weg-

For more than a hundred years critics have stigmatized the use ofwait on ( and somewhat less frequentlywait upon ) to mean roughly .await. or .wait for,.as inWe are still waiting on the committee vote. This use is so widespread in both educated speech and reputable writingthat the traditional objections have come to seem unnecessary.
一百多年来评论家一直贬低wait on ( 有时也较少使用wait upon ) 作为.等待.或.等候.意义的用法，如在我们仍在等待委员会的投票。 这种用处在演讲和写作中用的是如此普遍，以至于原来的反对已经看起来不必要了