wait – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of wait

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to wait upon sth
Participle: waited upon sth
Gerund: waiting upon sth

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Iwait upon sth
youwait upon sth
he;she;itwaits upon sth
wewait upon sth
youwait upon sth
theywait upon sth

Perfect

Ihave waited upon sth
youhave waited upon sth
he;she;ithas waited upon sth
wehave waited upon sth
youhave waited upon sth
theyhave waited upon sth

Past

Iwaited upon sth
youwaited upon sth
he;she;itwaited upon sth
wewaited upon sth
youwaited upon sth
theywaited upon sth

Pluperfect

Ihad waited upon sth
youhad waited upon sth
he;she;ithad waited upon sth
wehad waited upon sth
youhad waited upon sth
theyhad waited upon sth

Future

Iwill wait upon sth
youwill wait upon sth
he;she;itwill wait upon sth
wewill wait upon sth
youwill wait upon sth
theywill wait upon sth

Future Perfect

Iwill have waited upon sth
youwill have waited upon sth
he;she;itwill have waited upon sth
wewill have waited upon sth
youwill have waited upon sth
theywill have waited upon sth

Subjunctive

Present

Iwait upon sth
youwait upon sth
he;she;itwait upon sth
wewait upon sth
youwait upon sth
theywait upon sth

Perfect

Ihave waited upon sth
youhave waited upon sth
he;she;ithave waited upon sth
wehave waited upon sth
youhave waited upon sth
theyhave waited upon sth

Imperfect

Iwaited upon sth
youwaited upon sth
he;she;itwaited upon sth
wewaited upon sth
youwaited upon sth
theywaited upon sth

Pluperfect

Ihad waited upon sth
youhad waited upon sth
he;she;ithad waited upon sth
wehad waited upon sth
youhad waited upon sth
theyhad waited upon sth

Conditional

Present

Iwould wait upon sth
youwould wait upon sth
he;she;itwould wait upon sth
wewould wait upon sth
youwould wait upon sth
theywould wait upon sth

Perfect

Iwould have waited upon sth
youwould have waited upon sth
he;she;itwould have waited upon sth
wewould have waited upon sth
youwould have waited upon sth
theywould have waited upon sth

Imperative

youwait upon sth
weLet's wait upon sth
youwait upon sth

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam waiting upon sth
youare waiting upon sth
he;she;itis waiting upon sth
weare waiting upon sth
youare waiting upon sth
theyare waiting upon sth

Perfect

Ihave been waiting upon sth
youhave been waiting upon sth
he;she;ithas been waiting upon sth
wehave been waiting upon sth
youhave been waiting upon sth
theyhave been waiting upon sth

Past

Iwas waiting upon sth
youwere waiting upon sth
he;she;itwas waiting upon sth
wewere waiting upon sth
youwere waiting upon sth
theywere waiting upon sth

Pluperfect

Ihad been waiting upon sth
youhad been waiting upon sth
he;she;ithad been waiting upon sth
wehad been waiting upon sth
youhad been waiting upon sth
theyhad been waiting upon sth

Future

Iwill be waiting upon sth
youwill be waiting upon sth
he;she;itwill be waiting upon sth
wewill be waiting upon sth
youwill be waiting upon sth
theywill be waiting upon sth

Future Perfect

Iwill have been waiting upon sth
youwill have been waiting upon sth
he;she;itwill have been waiting upon sth
wewill have been waiting upon sth
youwill have been waiting upon sth
theywill have been waiting upon sth

Conditional

Present

Iwould be waiting upon sth
youwould be waiting upon sth
he;she;itwould be waiting upon sth
wewould be waiting upon sth
youwould be waiting upon sth
theywould be waiting upon sth

Perfect

Iwould have been waiting upon sth
youwould have been waiting upon sth
he;she;itwould have been waiting upon sth
wewould have been waiting upon sth
youwould have been waiting upon sth
theywould have been waiting upon sth

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'wait'

abandon, abduct, abear, aberr, abject, abord, abort, abound, abraid, abray, abrook, abscind, abscond, absist, absorb, abstain, abstract, accend, accent, accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'wait'

await, bait, gait, lait, nait, waft, wail, wain, wair, waite,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

wait in expectation
abide
rest in patience or expectation
stay
delay until
wait for
attend with ceremony or respect
serve
defer or postpone
procrastinate
to wait
bide
to stay or remain in a place or situation
abide, eld, linger, retard, stay, tarry
To attend on, especially with ceremony or respect.
serve
to delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness
abide, bide, defer, expect, hang on, hold on, hold one's breath, hold one's horses, hold one's water, hold out, stand by, stay
Especially for a suitable opportunity.
bide one's time
To accomplish nothing useful or lack a useful occupation.
twiddle one's thumbs
await
anticipate, expect, abide, delay, linger, remain, tarry, stay
serve
tend, deliver, help

Antonyms

to delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness
act, go it blind, grasp, grasp the nettle, jump at the chance, jump on, jump the gun, shoot first and ask questions later, shoot from the hip

Additional Information

Etymology

1. c.1200, "to watch with hostile intent, lie in wait for," from O.N.Fr. waitier "to watch" (Fr. guetter), from Frank. *wahton (cf. Du. wacht "a watching," O.H.G. wahten, Ger. wachten "to watch, to guard;" O.H.G. wahhon "to watch, be awake," O.E. wacian "to be awake;" see wake (v.)). General sense of "remain in some place" is from 1375; meaning "serve as an attendant at a table" is from 1568. The noun is first attested c.1300. To wait (something) out "endure a period of waiting" is recorded from 1909, originally Amer.Eng., in ref. to baseball batters trying to draw a base on balls. Waiting game is recorded from 1890. Waiting room is attested from 1683. Waiting list is recorded from 1897; the verb wait-list "to put (someone) on a waiting list" is recorded from 1960.
2. From Middle English waiten, from Anglo-Norman waiter, waitier (compare French guetter from Old French gaitier, guaitier), from Frankish *wahtwēn (“to watch, guard”), derivative of Frankish *wahtu (“guard, watch”), from Proto-Germanic *wahtwō (“guard, watch”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (“to be fresh, cheerful, awake”).
3. Cognate with Old High German wahtēn (“to watch, guard”), German Low German wachten (“to wait”), Dutch wachten (“to wait, expect”), French guetter (“to watch out for”), Saterland Frisian wachtje (“to wait”), West Frisian wachtsje (“to wait”), North Frisian wachtjen (“to stand, stay put”). More at watch.
4. In some senses, merged or influenced by Middle English waiten, weiten (“to do good to, lie in wait for, to contrive good or harm on, catch, snare”), from Old Norse veita (“to give help to, assist, grant, cause to happen”), from Proto-Germanic *waitijaną (“to show, guide, advise, direct”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, know”).
5. Largely overtook native Middle English biden, from Old English bīdan, source of bide. See: Middle English 'waiten', French 'guetter', Old French 'gaitier', Dutch 'wachten', French 'guetter', Frisian, Saterlandic 'wachtje', Middle English 'waiten', Proto-Germanic '*waitijaną'.

Verbs referencing "wait"

Tok Pisin wet, English await, French guetter, Tok Pisin wetim, Belize Creole wayt.

Sample Sentences

  • To and fro, to and fro, to and fro again a hundred times! This waiting for the latest mail-bags is worse than all. If we could have gone off in the midst of that last burst, we should have started triumphantly: but to lie here, two hours and more in the damp fog, [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] fog, neither staying at home nor going abroad, is letting one gradually down into the very depths of dulness and low spirits. A speck in the mist, at last! That’s something. It is the boat we wait for ! That’s more to the purpose. The captain appears on the paddle-box with his speaking trumpet; the officers take their stations; all hands are on the alert; the flagging hopes of the [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • He was waited upon over the factory, shown the machinery by George, who, in high spirits, talked so fluently, held himself so erect, looked so handsome and manly, that his master began to feel an uneasy [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • ‘For a while, she was much bewildered; and after waiting about two weeks, until she became acquainted with her new locality, and somewhat familiar with the inmates, the attempt was made to give her knowledge of arbitrary signs, by which she could [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • In the prisoner 's cell, waiting to be examined by the magistrate on a charge of theft, was a boy. This lad, instead of being committed to a common jail, would be sent to the asylum at South Boston, and there taught a trade; and [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • “ There's a man a piece down here, that's going over with some truck this evening, if he durs ’ to; he'll be in here to supper tonight, so you'd better set down and wait. That's a sweet little fellow, ” added the woman, offering him a cake. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] or, in other words, not frozen. The captain of a small steamboat was going to make his first trip for the season that day (the second February trip, I believe, within the memory of man ), and only waited for us to go on board. Accordingly, we went on board, with as little delay as might be. He was as good as his word, and started directly. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • We stopped to dine at Baltimore, and being now in Maryland, were waited on, for the first time, by slaves. The sensation of exacting any service from human creatures who are bought and sold, and being, for the time, a party as it were to their condition, is not an [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] of the river and the adjacent country; and who were sauntering, too, about a larger state-room called the Eastern Drawing-room; we went up-stairs into another chamber, where were certain visitors, waiting for audiences. At sight of my conductor, a black in plain clothes and yellow slippers who was gliding noiselessly about, and whispering messages in the ears of the more impatient, made a sign of [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • We had not waited in this room many minutes, before the black messenger returned, and conducted us into another of smaller dimensions, where, at a business-like table covered with papers, sat the President himself. [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • No matter when you come, I'll always be here waiting, in the first song on the B side. (Only the River Flows)
  • -Oh, now we can go. -Come on. Waiting on you. It's gonna take forever. Sorry. That was my girlfriend -- (The Baltimorons)
  • Hi. I missed my train. Hmm. It's big. It's disgusting. Can I--can I leave my suitcase here while I wait ? (Mile End Kicks)
  • Only us, da - Finish all of them - Okay, come on Hey, Martin Martin!! 'HEY!' What are you waiting for ? Close his chapter (Magudam)