wait, await

名詞 wait:

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

動詞 wait:

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

1. I waited in all day but they didn't arrive.
   我在家等了一天，他們卻沒來。
2. He kept us waiting for ages while he packed his luggage.
   他收拾行李，讓我們等了好半天。
3. How long have you been waiting?
   你已經(jīng)等候多久了？
4. I don't like this long wait.
   我不喜歡這種長時間的等待。

wait

v.（動詞）
wait.ed,wait.ing,waits
v.intr.（不及物動詞）

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
等待客人的到來參見 stay

To tarry until another catches up.
停留：滯留直至別人追上
To remain or be in readiness:
等待：保留或處于準(zhǔn)備狀態(tài)：
例句：
lunch waiting on the table.
午餐在桌上放著

To remain temporarily neglected, unattended to, or postponed:
延遲：暫時被忽略、不照料或推遲：
例句：
The trip will have to wait.
旅行還得推遲

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

Informal To delay (a meal or an event); postpone:
【非正式用語】 推遲：推遲（就餐或事件）；阻延：
例句：
They waited lunch for us.
他們?yōu)槲覀兌七t午餐

To be a waiter or waitress at:
擔(dān)任侍者：在…作招待或女招待：
例句：
wait tables.
在桌旁服務(wù)

n.（名詞）
The act of waiting or the time spent waiting.
等：等的行為或等候的時間
Chiefly British
【多用于英國】
One of a group of musicians employed, usually by a city, to play in parades or public ceremonies.
公共樂隊(duì)隊(duì)員：常被一個城市雇傭的一隊(duì)音樂家，在游行或公共儀式中演出
One of a group of musicians or carolers who perform in the streets at Christmastime.
沿街唱圣詩的人們：圣誕節(jié)時在街上演出的一樂隊(duì)或唱圣歌的人

<常用詞組>wait on 或
wait upon
To serve the needs of; be in attendance on.
滿足…的需要；服侍
To make a formal call on; visit.
造訪：正式拜訪；訪問
To follow as a result; depend on.
作為一個結(jié)果；依賴于
To await:
等待：
例句：
They`re waiting on my decision.
他們在等我的決定

wait out
To delay until the termination of:
推遲直至結(jié)束為止：
例句：
wait out a war; waited out the miniskirt craze.
直等到戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束；等到迷你裙風(fēng)潮過后

wait up
To postpone going to bed in anticipation of something or someone.
熬夜等候：為等待某事或某人而推遲睡覺
Informal To stop or pause so that another can catch up:
【非正式用語】 等：為使別人趕上而停止或暫停：
例句：
Let`s wait up for the stragglers.
讓我們等等掉隊(duì)的人

來源：
Middle English waiten
中古英語 waiten
from Old North French waitier [to watch]
源自 古法國北方方言 waitier [看]
[of Germanic origin] * see weg-
[日耳曼語源] *參見 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.
一百多年來評論家一直貶低wait on ( 有時也較少使用wait upon ) 作為.等待.或.等候.意義的用法，如在我們?nèi)栽诘却瘑T會的投票。 這種用處在演講和寫作中用的是如此普遍，以至于原來的反對已經(jīng)看起來不必要了