拭 目 以 待

shì mù yǐ dàidictionary entry

lit. to wipe one's eyes and wait (idiom) / to wait and see

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-0988f5c1b98b8da4. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

拭目以待拭目以待 [shi4 mu4 yi3 dai4] /lit. to wipe one's eyes and wait (idiom); to wait and see/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

拭
shì
to wipe
目
mù
eye / (literary) to look / to regard / eye (of a net) / mesh / mesh size / grit size (abbr. for 目數|目数[mù shù]) / item / section / list / catalogue / (taxonomy) order / name / title
以
yǐ
to use / by means of / according to / in order to / because of / at (a certain date or place)
Yǐ
abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yǐ sè liè]
待
dāi
to stay / to remain
dài
to wait / to treat / to deal with / to need / going to (do sth) / about to / intending to

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.