Meanings
plural wait-a-whiles
- AustraliaAny of several thorny Australian vines or shrubs which impede passage, especially Acacia cuspidifolia of Western Australia, Smilax australis of eastern Australia and the Northern Territory, and lawyer vine.
In the new clearing by the creek where he had felled most of the big stuff, she attacked the landscape with anger, grubbing out the wait-a-while and bush-sword that was still guzzling round the stumps.
1979, Thea Astley, Hunting the Wild Pineapple, Nelson, page 136
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of wait-a-bit.
Origin
- Dutchwacht-en-beetje
- Englishwait-a-while
Originally after South African Dutch wacht-en-beetje; compare wait-a-bit.
More words from Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
wait-a-while. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wait-a-while
“wait-a-while.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wait-a-while. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wait-a-while,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wait-a-while.
Source: wait-a-while on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.