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Do you say "waiting for" or "waiting on"?

Asked by answerjill (6198points) December 6th, 2010

I grew up in NY and have lived in various places on the East coast of the USA. In these places, one would say that one is “waiting for” [a person, an event, etc]. When I was in high school, I met some kids from Indiana who used the phrase “waiting on” instead of “waiting for.” [example: “We can’t leave yet because we’re waiting on Kyle.”] That surprised me because where I was from, to “wait on” someone meant to serve them, like in a restaurant. These days, I listen to country music and I hear the “wait on” phrase in the lyrics from time to time. I’m just curious about the geographical distribution of the use of the two phrases. Where are you from and/or where do you live, and which phrase do you use to express that you need to wait?

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