WAIT

Definitions

1. 1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt. There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican town of El Paso. S. B. Griffin.
2. 2. Ambush. "An enemy in wait." Milton.
3. 3. One who watches; a watchman. [Obs.]
4. 4. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used in the singular. [Obs.] Halliwell.
5. 5. Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [Written formerly wayghtes.] Hark! are the waits abroad Beau & Fl. The sound of the waits, rude as may be their minstrelsy, breaks upon the mild watches of a winter night with the effect of perfect harmony. W. Irving. To lay wait, to prepare an ambuscade. -- To lie in wait. See under 4th Lie.