Meaning & use
waiting time
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
the amount of time you must spend before something you are waiting for actually happens.
Grammar: Can be countable (a waiting time of two hours) or uncountable (cut waiting time); use 'the' or a possessive before it.
Patterns
- a waiting time of + length
- the waiting time for something
- reduce/cut waiting time
- waiting time between something
The average waiting time at the clinic was about forty minutes.
Passengers complained that the waiting time between trains was far too long.
We are trying to reduce waiting time for people who call our helpline.
noununcountabletechnical
a period during which a machine, system, or worker is ready but has nothing to do.
Grammar: Used without 'a' in technical and business writing: waiting time costs money.
Patterns
- waiting time in a system
- waiting time on a machine
- increase/decrease waiting time
Engineers measured the waiting time of each processor while the network was busy.
Too much waiting time on the production line pushed up costs.
The software records waiting time so managers can see where delays happen.
Word forms
| plural | waiting times |
|---|
Common combinations
- average waiting time
- The average waiting time for a passport is now three weeks.
- reduce waiting time
- The hospital hopes to reduce waiting time by hiring more staff.
- a long waiting time
- There was a long waiting time before anyone answered the phone.
- waiting time between trains
- The waiting time between trains is only five minutes at rush hour.
- cut down waiting time
- New software has cut down waiting time for customers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- delay
- A delay is a specific hold-up that makes something late, while waiting time is simply the total time spent waiting.
- queue time
- Queue time is common in British service and computing contexts and stresses standing in line, whereas waiting time is the more general term.
- lead time
- Lead time is the time from ordering something to receiving it, so it often includes work as well as waiting.
Word family
- wait verb
- to stay somewhere until something happens.
- waiting list noun
- a list of people waiting for something to become available.
- waiting room noun
- a room where people sit until their turn comes.
Commonly confused: waiting time or wait time?
waiting time vs wait time
'Wait time' is common in American English and in computing; it means the same thing, but 'waiting time' is the safer choice in general writing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'waiting time' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Waiting time' is a noun phrase meaning the period you must wait, so 'The waiting time for a reply is usually two days' fits. The other options use it as a verb or as an adjective, which it cannot be.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “waiting time”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.