waiting on
Serving a table
Waiting on has two distinct uses.
The older sense means to serve: The waiter was waiting on three tables at once.
The newer sense, common in American speech, means waiting for—expecting something to happen or someone to act: I'm waiting on a callback from the doctor.
Traditionalists sometimes object to this second use, but it's thoroughly established in casual speech.
- attendBe present at
- assistTo give support
- dependRequire for support
- count onTrust reliably
- relyTrust for support
patience · expectation · anticipation · standby · in the wings · serve · at your service · look forward to · any minute now · pins and needles · cater · anxious · bide · hold off · standing by · hand and foot · lean on · delay
waiting onignoring
Deliberately not noticing
going ahead · neglecting · disregarding · moving forward · taking initiative
wait, waiting, await, awaiting, waits, waited, awaited, awaits, waitstaff