lie in wait

Idioms  

1. Remain hidden while preparing to attack, as in The opposition was quietly lying in wait for the incumbent to make his first big mistake. This expression originally alluded to physical attacks and is now often used figuratively. [Mid-1400s] Also see lay for.

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Example Sentences

Difficult matches lie in wait for Wales, but they will fancy their chances of qualifying for a second successive World Cup, and only a third in their history.

From BBC • Nov. 20, 2025

Not being able to lie in wait for your helper to enter the cell poses an important challenge to a satellite phage.

From Salon • Nov. 9, 2023

Across Afghanistan, thousands of unexploded devices lie in wait, the U.N. de-mining agency says.

From Reuters • Jul. 7, 2022

In planter boxes outside dining sheds, rats lie in wait for any fallen crumb.

From Washington Times • May 8, 2022

The plan we’d come up with to test Ruth’s theory was very simple: we—the six of us in on it—would lie in wait for Madame somewhere, then “swarm out” all around her, all at once.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• await
• delay
• expect
• hang
• linger
• remain
• stand by
• stay
• stick around
• watch