Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and I’m currently waiting on a package from Amazon. [wrong buzzer] If you pictured me standing around in a suit offering cocktails to my Amazon package, then congratulations—that is, in fact, what I said. To “wait on” exclusively means to “serve.” Waitresses wait on you when you’re at a restaurant, for example. But if you take too long reading the menu and make your waitress stand there in awkward silence, she’s waiting for you.
“Waiting on” and “waiting for” are not interchangeable. To recap: To wait on means to serve, accommodate, or look after. To wait for means to kick back and relax until someone else is ready.
That’s your Grammar Minute! Visit thegrammarminute.com for more tips and tricks.