Wait vs. Idle — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Wait and Idle
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Compare with Definitions
Wait
Stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or event
He did not wait for a reply
We're waiting for Allan to get back
Vera did not wait on a Home Office ruling
Ben stood on the street corner waiting to cross
I had to wait my turn to play
Idle
Not employed or busy
Idle carpenters.
Wait
Used to indicate that one is eagerly impatient to do something or for something to happen
I can't wait to tell Nick what happened
Idle
Disinclined to work or be active; lazy
“a man who could seem idle, ignorant, even incompetent, yet was able to understand and to express ... the instincts, good and bad, of the American majority” (Godfrey Hodgson).
Wait
Act as a waiter or waitress, serving food and drink
A local man was employed to wait on them at table
We had to wait tables in the mess hall
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Idle
Not in use or operation
Idle hands.
Idle mills.
Wait
A period of waiting
We had a long wait
Idle
(Sports) Not scheduled to play a game
Both teams played today but will be idle tomorrow.
Wait
Street singers of Christmas carols.
Idle
Being a period of time in which there is little or no activity
Passed idle hours watching TV.
Wait
To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.)
Idle
Lacking substance, value, or basis
Idle speculation.
Idle threats.
Wait
(intransitive) To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
Wait here until your car arrives.
Idle
To pass time without being engaged in purposeful activity
“The girls idled all day long, sending their tinkling laughter flowing up and down the street” (Alai).
Wait
To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
She used to wait in this joint.
Idle
To move slowly or without purpose
“I drove past the workshop ... I idled along the driveway past the pole fence ... to Tyhee Road” (Tom Spanbauer).
Wait
To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.
Idle
To run at a slow speed or out of gear. Used of a motor or motor vehicle.
Wait
(obsolete) To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
Idle
To pass (time) without doing anything
Idle the afternoon away.
Wait
To defer or postpone (especially a meal).
Idle
To make or cause to be unemployed or inactive
Layoffs that idled 1,000 factory workers.
A plant that was idled by a strike.
Wait
(intransitive) To remain faithful to one’s partner or betrothed during a prolonged period of absence.
Idle
To cause (a motor, for example) to idle.
Wait
A delay.
I had a very long wait at the airport security check.
Idle
A state of idling. Used of a motor vehicle
An engine running quietly at idle.
Wait
An ambush.
They lay in wait for the patrol.
Idle
A mechanism for regulating the speed at which an engine runs at rest
Set the idle higher to keep the motor from stalling.
Wait
(computing) wait state
Idle
(obsolete) Empty, vacant.
Wait
(obsolete) One who watches; a watchman.
Idle
Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity.
Idle hours
My computer hibernates after it has been idle for 30 minutes.
Wait
Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
Idle
Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular.
Idle workmen
Wait
Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [formerly waites, wayghtes.]
Idle
Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.
An idle fellow
Wait
(informal) Tells the other speaker to stop talking, typing etc. for a moment.
Wait. Stop talking for a moment while I get my head straight.
Idle
Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.
An idle story;
Idle talk;
Idle rumor
Wait
To watch; to observe; to take notice.
"But [unless] ye wait well and be privy,I wot right well, I am but dead," quoth she.
Idle
(obsolete) Light-headed; foolish.
Wait
To stay or rest in expectation; to stop or remain stationary till the arrival of some person or event; to rest in patience; to stay; not to depart.
All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
They also serve who only stand and wait.
Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait.
Idle
(transitive) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
Wait
To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation of; to await; as, to wait orders.
Awed with these words, in camps they still abide,And wait with longing looks their promised guide.
Idle
(intransitive) To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business.
To idle in an IRC channel
Wait
To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany; to await.
Idle
(intransitive) Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over.
Wait
To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.
He chose a thousand horse, the flower of allHis warlike troops, to wait the funeral.
Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee,And everlasting anguish be thy portion.
Idle
(mechanical engineering) The lowest selectable thrust or power setting of an engine.
Wait
To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; - said of a meal; as, to wait dinner.
Idle
(gaming) An idle animation.
Wait
The act of waiting; a delay; a halt.
There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican town of El Paso.
Idle
(gaming) An idle game.
Wait
Ambush.
Idle
Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren.
Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Down their idle weapons dropped.
This idle story became important.
Wait
One who watches; a watchman.
Idle
Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours.
The idle spear and shield were high uphing.
Wait
Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used in the singular.
Idle
Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as, idle workmen.
Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Wait
Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen.
Hark! are the waits abroad?
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.
Idle
Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as, an idle fellow.
Wait
Time during which some action is awaited;
Instant replay caused too long a delay
He ordered a hold in the action
Idle
Light-headed; foolish.
Wait
The act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something);
The wait was an ordeal for him
Idle
To lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business.
Wait
Stay in one place and anticipate or expect something;
I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets
Idle
To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; - often followed by away; as, to idle away an hour a day.
Wait
Wait before acting
Idle
Run disconnected or idle;
The engine is idling
Wait
Look forward to the probable occurrence of;
We were expecting a visit from our relatives
She is looking to a promotion
He is waiting to be drafted
Idle
Be idle; exist in a changeless situation;
The old man sat and stagnated on his porch
He slugged in bed all morning
Wait
Serve as a waiter in a restaurant;
I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's
Idle
Not in action or at work;
An idle laborer
Idle drifters
The idle rich
An idle mind
Idle
Without a basis in reason or fact;
Baseless gossip
The allegations proved groundless
Idle fears
Unfounded suspicions
Unwarranted jealousy
Idle
Not in active use;
The machinery sat idle during the strike
Idle hands
Idle
Silly or trivial;
Idle pleasure
Light banter
Light idle chatter
Idle
Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility;
Idle talk
A loose tongue
Idle
Not yielding a return;
Dead capital
Idle funds
Idle
Not having a job;
Idle carpenters
Jobless transients
Many people in the area were out of work
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