Waits

How to spell waits

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce waits

What does waits mean?

1. verbStays in one place or delays action until an expected event happens (third-person singular).
2. nounPeriods spent staying or delaying before something happens (plural noun).

Waits in a sentence

• verb

  She waits outside the office until the meeting begins.

• noun

  The long waits at the clinic frustrated every patient that afternoon.

• verb

  The courier waits at the door for someone to sign for the parcel.

• noun

  Passengers complained about the repeated waits between connecting trains.

Where does waits come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the inflected form of 'wait', a verb that came into English in the 1100s through Old North French 'waitier', meaning 'to watch' or 'to keep guard'. That French word was itself borrowed from a Germanic root connected to 'wakon', 'to be awake' or 'to watch over', which is also the ancestor of the modern English 'wake' and 'watch'. The earliest sense was very much about vigilant watching, as a sentry watches through the night; only later did the meaning soften into the everyday idea of staying somewhere in expectation of something. The classic spelling trap is that 'waits' sounds exactly like 'weights', the loads measured on a scale, so the ear gives no help; remembering the link to 'wake' and 'watch', which share the same 'wa-' opening, keeps the spelling on track.

How the word is built

• wait (to stay in expectation)
• -s (third-person singular present, or noun plural)

Words that sound like waits

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• weights: Heavy objects, especially metal blocks used for exercise or for measuring on a scale.