student asking question

What is the difference between "wait" and "wait up"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Wait up" is a phrasal verb of "wait". Used in this context, "wait" and "wait up" have the same general meaning. The main difference here is that "wait up" indicates that they had to stop and wait, whereas "wait" doesn't emphasize the action of having to stop. "Wait up" in this sense is similar to saying "stop" or "hold on", and implies that you don't move until you are done waiting. In most cases, you can pretty much use these two terms interchangeably since they have the same general meaning and are just slightly different in nuance. Ex: Wait up! I'm almost there. Ex: He wants us to wait up for him.

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