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wait around. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
wait around, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
wait around in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Verb
wait around (third-person singular simple present waits around, present participle waiting around, simple past and past participle waited around)
- (intransitive, idiomatic) To spend an especially lengthy period of time inactively, while expecting the arrival of someone or while anticipating some other event, often impatiently and often without a satisfactory outcome.
1960 October 31, “United Nations: Last Words”, in Time, retrieved 18 February 2020:"A terrible organization!" said Nikita Khrushchev, all but shuddering at the memory. "If you could see how the delegates behave! . They do not participate in work, but just sit there and wait around in case there's any voting."
1993 November 14, William Glaberson, “Waiting for The Post to Call”, in New York Times, retrieved 18 February 2020:"In the beginning, I was waiting around by the phone," he said. "Then I got myself an answering machine."