lie in wait en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Meanings
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(idiomatic, intransitive) To be hiding, waiting to ambush or attack someone, or simply to accost them unexpectedly.
Nothing impressed me, so much, in my visits here (which were pretty numerous) as the uncommonly hard and cruel character of the audience, who resent the slightest defect, take nothing good-humouredly, seem to be always lying in wait for an opportunity to hiss, and spare the actresses as little as the actors.
1846, Charles Dickens, “Genoa and Its Neighbourhood”, in Pictures from Italy, London: […] Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC, page 67:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| lain in wait | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| lies in wait | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| lying in wait | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| lay in wait | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (35)
pl czatować (to be hiding to ambush) · ast cuidar (to be hiding to ambush) · ca estar a l'aguait (to be hiding to ambush) · qu chapatiyay (to be hiding to ambush) · fr être à l'affût (to be hiding to ambush) · de auf der Lauer liegen (to be hiding to ambush) · th ดักรอ (to be hiding to ambush) · pt tocaiar (to be hiding to ambush) · grc ἐνεδρεύω (to be hiding to ambush) · pl przyczaić się (to be hiding to ambush) · la īnsidior (to be hiding to ambush) · is sitja um (to be hiding to ambush) · pt emboscar-se (to be hiding to ambush) · gv fo-lhie (to be hiding to ambush) · la aucupor (to be hiding to ambush) · ja 張り込む (to be hiding to ambush) · tr pusu kurmak (to be hiding to ambush) · nmn ǂqàa (to be hiding to ambush) · he אָרַב (to be hiding to ambush) · grc φυλάσσω (to be hiding to ambush) · bg де́бна (to be hiding to ambush) · ru злоумы́слить (to be hiding to ambush) · hy դարանակալել (to be hiding to ambush) · it appostarsi (to be hiding to ambush) · it stare in agguato (to be hiding to ambush) · es estar al acecho (to be hiding to ambush) · is liggja í launsátri (to be hiding to ambush) · fi väijyä (to be hiding to ambush) · ota پوصمق (to be hiding to ambush) · tr pusmak (to be hiding to ambush) · sv ligga på lur (to be hiding to ambush) · tr pusuya yatmak (to be hiding to ambush) · is sitja fyrir (to be hiding to ambush) · fr êtres aux aguets (to be hiding to ambush) · pl przyczajać się (to be hiding to ambush)