Meaning & use
wait list
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A list of people who are waiting for something, such as a place, ticket, or service.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a wait list' or 'on the wait list'.
Patterns
- on the wait list
- put someone on a wait list
I'm on the wait list for the cooking class.
The restaurant put us on a wait list for a table.
There are twenty people on the wait list for tickets.
verbtransitive
To put someone on a list of people waiting for something.
Grammar: Takes an object: wait list someone for something.
Patterns
- wait list someone for something
The airline wait listed me for the next flight.
They wait listed her for the course because it was full.
Word forms
| plural | wait lists |
|---|---|
| third person singular | wait lists |
| past tense | wait listed |
| past participle | wait listed |
| -ing form | wait listing |
Common combinations
- on the wait list
- She's been on the wait list for months.
- join the wait list
- You can join the wait list online.
- put someone on the wait list
- The doctor put him on the wait list for surgery.
- wait list for something
- There's a long wait list for that apartment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- waiting list
- Waiting list is the more formal, full form; wait list is a shorter version common in American English.
- queue
- Queue is used especially in British English for a line of people waiting, while wait list is a written list, not a physical line.
Word family
- waitlist noun
- One-word spelling of wait list.
- waitlisted adjective
- Placed on a wait list; e.g., a waitlisted applicant.
Commonly confused: wait list or waitlist?
wait list vs waitlist
This is just the one-word spelling of wait list; both are correct, but waitlist is more common as a verb.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The usual preposition is 'on': on the wait list. 'In', 'at', and 'by' do not fit this fixed phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wait list”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.