waited

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.

The 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.

Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.

Etymology of waited

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

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Words and phrases paired with waited

Rhymes with waited