Wait / Await

Question last week, “What’s the difference between waiting and awaiting?”

The examples given were something like

What are you waiting for?
He’s awaiting promotion.

The verb wait has several meanings, but in the context here the MDO defines it as

to stay in one place because you expect or hope that something will happen

while await is defined as

to wait for something that you expect to happen

or

to wait for something that is the next stage in a process

Not much difference, was my immediate thought. I think the best way to think of the difference, if you look at the above examples is this

await = wait for

And it seems to work, have a look at these examples

to suggest that the ordination of women should wait for all other ministry issues to be perfectly
And if you like the sound of that, just wait until you see it. For more information on what
shoppers”. Some cheeky thieves will wait for spring when pre-seasons on maintenance of
the park in a pram the size of a skip and wait for the compliments. As my boys grew
who will have that pleasure next, we’ll have to wait and see BENCH MARKS A LOOK AT
wasn’t there too, but in the end I had to wait for him to turn up in order to stitch a small
Nineties credibility: velvet has had to sit and wait its turn in the style queue for an
angry and impatient, but they may now have to wait for the Tories to be beaten in next May’s
many Pakistanis must now sit home and anxiously wait for further news of their money state. But
please don’t ask me to tell him yet. Let me wait long enough to get the news from Francie, and
shook his head. There was nothing to do but wait. They had emptied Adam’s pockets and were
sparkling, then he went back to the motel to wait for evening. The telephone rang and Stein
But why had he been there at all? Why didn’t he wait and overtake Schlesser at his leisure a few
but Dallandra caught his shoulder. ‘My love, wait! I’ve got to get to Jill.” He twisted round in
or a sodium bicarbonate mouthwash, and then wait several hours before having anything acidic,
many visitors to Montini, irritated by the long wait – interviews invariably overshot their stated
could possibly have come to appear in his hand. Wait a minute,” he said, magically plucking a

our squads from 150 to 30 committed players. I await your response. SHORT TENNIS TOURNAMENT:
room, with a supply of fresh water, and await examination by the Veterinary Surgeon.
record in case of subsequent legal action. We await with interest the official response to this
explores the antique room prepared for him to await his rebirth as a Star Child. Yet if the
still or sparkling direct from the farm shop or await visits to but a few of London’s favourite
Enforcement Notice. As they eagerly await the government’s reply to the European Court’
you expect players to show any While Albion await the outcome of a League inquiry into the
Complimentary champagne, fruit and flowers await the arrival of newly weds or those who choose
before her arrival; inside, a staff of eight await. It is a better appointed place of exile than
prison sentences, allows drug traffickers to await trial in freedom and guarantees that their
tens of thousands of opposition demonstrators await the expected announcement that the government
of-war camp, investigated and retained to await the pleasure of the victorious Powers. It was
a small room in Peshawar, and settled down to await the coming of the prince. Peshawar was
the object being to ‘avoid losses and to await American reinforcements”. Haig, feeling that
lose half of America”. Disease and isolation await the white man. There are ‘witch-doctors”. ‘
rent open and the dead rise from the earth to await their judgement. A grisly fate awaits the

(Source: Corpus Concordance Sampler)

If you have a closer look, you’ll notice that you can substitute wait for for await, and equally the other way around. You’ll also notice that the use of await is generally more formal.

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