await
/əˈweɪt/verb
await is spelled A-W-A-I-T: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, await means “To wait for” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in await?
| Letters | 5: A-W-A-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.3 times per million words; the 12,397th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is await?
Await appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce await?
- UK /əˈweɪt/
Await has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-await.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with await?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as await from its last stressed vowel (/eɪt/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of await
- awaits present, singular, he/she/it
- awaiting participle, present
- awaited participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does await mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To wait for.
I await your reply to my letter.
- 2
To expect.
- 3
To be in store for; to be ready or in waiting for.
Glorious rewards await the good in heaven; eternal suffering awaits mortal sinners in hell.
- 4
To serve or attend; to wait on, wait upon.
- 5
To watch, observe.
- 6
To wait; to stay in waiting.
These are exotic lands where great adventures await.
noun
- 1
obsoleteA waiting for; ambush.
- 2
obsoleteWatching, watchfulness, suspicious observation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Await in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | attendre , s'attendre à , servir , guetter |
| German | erwarten, harren, warten auf, abwarten |
| Portuguese | esperar, aguardar , servir |
| Spanish | esperar, aguardar , esperarse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does await come from?
From Middle English awaiten, from Old Northern French awaitier (“to lie in wait for, watch, observe”), originally especially with a hostile sense; itself from a- (“to”) + waitier (“to watch”). More at English wait.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).