await
/əˈweɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.63 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "I await your reply to my letter."
- "Betwixt these rocky pillars Gabriel sat, / Chief of the angelic guards, awaiting night;"
- "I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town."
- "In love, however, women are brave. How many clamber over rooftops of houses and palaces, and are still doing it, when their lovers await them!"
- "After 170416 heads into the bay platform (2) to be prepared for its next trip to 'Skeggy', there's time to grab a coffee and await the arrival of RAIL's next train - the 1144 Leicester-Grimsby Town."
- "Glorious rewards await the good in heaven; eternal suffering awaits mortal sinners in hell."
Etymology
From Middle English awaiten, from Old Northern French awaitier (“to lie in wait for, watch, observe”), originally especially with a hostile sense; itself from a- (“to”) + waitier (“to watch”). More at English wait.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: awaiten, awaitier
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /əˈweɪt/