lie in wait

lie in wait
verb
wait in hiding to attack (Freq. 1)
Syn: ↑ambush, ↑scupper, ↑bushwhack, ↑waylay, ↑lurk, ↑ambuscade
Derivationally related forms: ↑ambuscade (for: ↑ambuscade), ↑lurker (for: ↑lurk), ↑bushwhacker (for: ↑bushwhack), ↑ambush (for: ↑ambush), ↑ambusher (for: ↑ambush)
Hypernyms: ↑wait
Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s somebody

* * *

lie in wait
To lie in ambush (often with for)
• • •
Main Entry:lie
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lie in wait
To be in hiding ready to attack or surprise (lit and figurative)
• • •
Main Entry:wait

* * *

conceal oneself, waiting to surprise, attack, or catch someone

* * *

lie in wait — see wait, 2
• • •
Main Entry:lie
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lie in wait
: to hide and wait for the right moment to make an attack

The killer may have been lying in wait for him.

— sometimes used figuratively

No one knows what lies in wait for us in the coming year. [=no one knows what will happen to us in the coming year]

• • •
Main Entry:wait

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • lie in wait — index lurk, prowl Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • lie in wait — 1. to stay hidden, ready to attack. Police said the suspect was lying in wait in a dark hallway. This person was found behind a wall, as if he were lying in wait for someone. 2. to delay doing something until the best time for it. The smart thing …   New idioms dictionary

  • lie in wait — watch from hiding in order to attack or surprise someone The police decided to lie in wait for the bank robbers to appear at the bank …   Idioms and examples

  • lie in wait (for somebody) — lie in ˈwait (for sb) idiom to hide, waiting to surprise, attack or catch sb • He was surrounded by reporters who had been lying in wait for him. Main entry: ↑lieidiom …   Useful english dictionary

  • lie in wait for — index ambush Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • lie in wait — Synonyms and related words: abide, ambuscade, ambush, await, bide, couch, creep, gumshoe, lay for, lay wait, lay wait for, lie in ambush, lurk, mark time, nightwalk, prowl, pussyfoot, shadow, sit up for, skulk, slink, sneak, stalk, stay up for,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • lie in wait — {v. phr.} To watch from hiding in order to attack or surprise someone; to ambush. * /The driver of the stage coach knew that the thieves were lying in wait somewhere along the road./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • lie in wait — {v. phr.} To watch from hiding in order to attack or surprise someone; to ambush. * /The driver of the stage coach knew that the thieves were lying in wait somewhere along the road./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • lie\ in\ wait — v. phr. To watch from hiding in order to attack or surprise someone; to ambush. The driver of the stage coach knew that the thieves were lying in wait somewhere along the road …   Словарь американских идиом

  • lie in wait — waylay, ambush, hide out and wait …   English contemporary dictionary

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