lie in wait

idiom

: 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.

Examples of lie in wait in a Sentence

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And that is Chinese government's prepositioning on American civilian critical infrastructure to lie in wait on those networks to be in a position to wreak havoc, and can inflict real-world harm at a time and place of their choosing. CBS News, 12 Jan. 2025 Russian Telegram channels are circulating a Ukrainian document on counter-drone warfare highlighting a new threat : pop-up ambushes by FPV drones which land on the ground and lie in wait until a target approaches. David Hambling, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024 From the mundane contract actions that too often lie in wait for months, sometimes years, to the reconceiving of software defined satellite architectures that move data faster for decisionmakers and warfighters, speed is imperative. Charles Beames, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024 Pace, Perrotin, Gladstone, Hauser & Wirth, White Cube, and Gagosian lie in wait by the entrance. George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 16 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for lie in wait 

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Cite this Entry

“Lie in wait.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lie%20in%20wait. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.

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