waiting

waiting — 動詞

1. to stay where you are or remain inactive because you believe someone will arrive

1.動詞不及物A1
釋義

等待；等候

停留在某處直到期待的人或事出現

to stay where you are or remain inactive because you believe someone will arrive or something will happen

例句

Takeshi waited for the express train at Grand Central Station.

Takeshi 在中央車站等候特快列車。

wait + for + object; adverb at + place

Saira waited patiently by the school gate until her daughter came out.

Saira 在校門口耐心等待，直到女兒走出來。

adverb patiently collocates with wait

同義詞
  • await

    more formal and always takes a direct object without 'for'; common in written English ('await instructions')

  • hold on

    informal, used for short waits, often on the phone ('hold on a moment')

  • hang on

    very informal British English equivalent of 'hold on'

反義詞
  • leave

    to go away from a place rather than stay

  • go ahead

    to proceed without waiting

文法句型

wait + for + object

wait + to-infinitive

wait + (time phrase) + for + object

用法筆記

Frequently used with 'for' to introduce the person or thing being waited for. Unlike some similar verbs, 'wait' takes a preposition, not a direct object — 'wait for the bus', not 'wait the bus'.

常見錯誤

❌Please wait me at the entrance.
✅Please wait FOR me at the entrance.
💡'wait' is intransitive and needs 'for' before its object.
❌I waited the bus for twenty minutes.
✅I waited FOR the bus for twenty minutes.
💡the thing being waited for always needs 'for'.

2. to be set aside to be done later instead of being dealt with straight away

2.動詞不及物B1
釋義

延後；暫緩

把事情推遲到以後再做

to be set aside to be done later instead of being dealt with straight away

例句

The laundry can wait until the weekend — we have more urgent things to do.

洗衣可以等到週末再做——我們有更急的事情要處理。

can wait: expresses non-urgency

Sirin decided that cleaning the garage could wait and went for a run instead.

Sirin 決定清車庫可以暫緩，改去跑步。

同義詞
  • be postponed

    more formal and suggests a planned later time ('the meeting was postponed')

  • be delayed

    suggests something is held up, often by external factors ('the flight was delayed')

  • defer

    formal, often used in business or academic contexts ('defer a decision')

反義詞
  • do now

    to handle immediately rather than postponing

文法句型

can/could + wait

will have to + wait

subject + can wait + until/till

3. used on road signs to indicate that vehicles must not stop, even for a very shor

3.動詞不及物B1
釋義

禁止停車

路標用語，車輛不可暫停

used on road signs to indicate that vehicles must not stop, even for a very short time

例句

A red sign at the entrance said 'No Waiting' — no stopping was allowed there.

入口處的紅色告示牌寫著「禁止停車」——那裡禁止任何車輛暫停。

sign phrase: 'No Waiting'

Faisal checked for 'No Waiting' signs before leaving his van near the market.

Faisal 在把貨車停在市場附近之前，先檢查有沒有「禁止停車」的標誌。

文法句型

'No waiting' on signs

用法筆記

This meaning is specific to British road signs and markings. In American English, the equivalent sign says 'No Stopping' or 'No Parking' depending on the rule.

waiting — 名詞