Thesaurus:wait

Thesaurus

wait

English

Verb

Sense: to delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness

Synonyms

• abide (obsolete)
• back that train up
• bide (archaic or dialect)
• bide one's time (idiomatic)
• expect (obsolete)
• defer
• hang on (idiomatic)
• hold on (idiomatic)
• hold one's breath (idiomatic)
• hold one's horses (idiomatic)
• hold one's water (idiomatic)
• hold out (idiomatic)
• mark time
• stand by (idiomatic)
• stay
• twiddle one's thumbs (idiomatic)
• wait

Antonyms

• act
• grasp    [⇒ thesaurus]
• grasp the nettle
• jump at the chance
• jump on
• go it blind (slang)
• jump the gun (idiomatic)
• shoot first and ask questions later (US, idiomatic)
• shoot from the hip (idiomatic)

Hyponyms

• cool one's heels (idiomatic)
• kick one's heels (idiomatic)

See also

• Thesaurus:wait for (transitive)
• Thesaurus:deferment
• Thesaurus:procrastinate

Further reading

• “133. lateness” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.
• “wait” in Moby Thesaurus II, Grady Ward, 1996.