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So I read a novel and found a sentence "Jane waited on her boss's instructions". Does the sententence mean that Jane was waiting for her boss's instructions?

SupernovaArbiter
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  • The expression 'wait on' is ambiguous; context only makes the 'wait, prepared to act upon' sense more probable rather than certain here. It could merely mean 'waited for' (where I'd say the multi-word verb status is dubious). It's rarely used in this context nowadays, being largely confined to restaurants etc and the set phrase 'waited on hand and foot'. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 18 '19 at 12:00

1 Answers1

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Not exactly. To 'wait on' is a phrase with a different meaning to 'wait for':

1.4: Remain in readiness for a purpose.

Lexico

When combined with a person, particularly a superior one, 'waiting on someone' means doing things for them, like a servant (or secretary, in your example).

Consider a waiter at a restaurant - a waiter waits at the tables, and waits on the customers:

  • ‘The only member of that group who will wait on tables next Sunday is Sean Carroll who has served at all of the 45 parties.’
  • ‘I felt like a fraud, sitting in a pleasant room, served three delicious meals a day and being waited on by quietly efficient and obviously busy staff who even spoke a little English.’
  • ‘He then worked as an electronic appliance technician before switching to blue-collar jobs such as waiting on restaurant tables and selling audio equipment.’

Examples from Lexico

marcellothearcane
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