verb
wait in hiding to attack (Freq. 1)
• 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
* * *
• • •
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.