What does waited mean?
Waited is the simple past tense and past participle of wait. It describes someone or something that remained in place, stayed in a condition, or delayed action until a person, event, or time arrived. The form is used when the speaker is referring to a completed period of waiting, whether that waiting was brief, lengthy, comfortable, or tense: "They waited for hours outside the station." It can also form compound tenses, as in "The package had waited for three days before being collected." The word is grammatically flexible, appearing with prepositions such as "for" and "until," and is neutral in both formal and informal contexts. Because waited marks a completed action, it often creates a retrospective or narrative effect, showing what occurred before the present moment. In conversation, it can simply report a past event without implying that the waiting was unusually difficult.
verbThe simple past tense and past participle of wait, meaning to remain in place or stay in a state until something happens or until a specified time.
- Remained in a place or situation until a person, event, or time arrived or passed.
"She waited for the bus until the rain finally stopped."
"The children waited for the parade to begin."
"By the time the flight was called, we had waited for nearly six hours."
Waited puts the waiting behind us: the pause is over, and the next moment can begin.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does waited come from?
Waited is formed from the Middle English verb waiten, meaning to stay or remain, with the regular English past-tense ending -ed. The verb came through Old French waitier, which is ultimately associated with a Germanic root meaning to watch or keep watch. It is related to cognates including await and, more distantly, watch.
Related word forms
How waited is actually used
Waited is neutral in register and is common in everyday speech as well as formal writing. It can describe either a completed period of waiting or an action viewed from the past, as in "She waited for an answer."
Easily confused with waited
Waited means remained waiting for something, whereas weighted means gave importance to something or influenced the result.