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Meaning of wait on in English:

wait on

See synonyms for wait on

phrasal verb

  • 1wait on someoneServe food or drink to someone in a restaurant, cafe, bar, etc.

    • ‘she was the waitress who usually waited on him at the cafe’
    serve, attend to, tend, cater for, cater to, act as a waiter to, act as a waitress to
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    1. 1.1US Serve a customer in a shop.
      • ‘customers stood in line expecting to be waited on’

  • 2wait on someone or wait upon someoneAct as an attendant to someone.

    ‘a maid was appointed to wait on her’
    • ‘Where once convicts were forced to hop around the exercise yard in the blazing sun, they now sunbathe in deckchairs, waited on by the guards.’
    • ‘I had to help with the preparations, taking time out from the demanding task of waiting on His Grace to assist with everything from cooking to candle making.’
    • ‘Palmerin is taken to Constantinople and appointed to wait on his cousin Polinarda, with whom he falls in love; while Floriano is taken to London and appointed to wait on Flerida.’
    • ‘The coachman obediently waited on me and put out a hand to assist me.’
    serve, attend to, tend, cater for, cater to, act as a waiter to, act as a waitress to
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    1. 2.1 archaic Pay someone a respectful visit.
      ‘a deputation had waited upon Lords Salisbury, Redesdale, and Roxburghe’
      • ‘The latter is very unpopular, & a deputation of ministers waited upon C, asking that he should be removed as he was not playing the game.’
      • ‘It states that any deputation waiting on a Minister or member after a demonstration is limited to six.’

  • 3wait on someone or somethingmainly US Stay where one is or delay action until someone arrives or is ready, or until a particular time or event.

    ‘they will wait on a Supreme Court ruling’
    • ‘she was waiting on her boyfriend’

  • 4Australian, New Zealand, Northern English informal Refrain from doing something until something else happens.

    • ‘wait on, I've an important message for you’
    • ‘She had decided to wait on telling Fredi until the perfect moment, so she had to pretend as if nothing were wrong.’
    • ‘We'll wait on the beets until the next crop comes in with fresh tops.’
    • ‘Also, sex is something that one should wait on until you are ready.’
    • ‘But I'll wait on a Voyager movie until they show it on a Friday night on UPN.’
    • ‘Well, let's wait on dinner a bit until we all calm down.’