bide time

To delay some action until an ideal moment or situation reveals itself. I'm just biding my time in an office job until a tenure-track position opens up at one of the local colleges. I never forgot the way he bullied and humiliated me in high school, but I chose to bide my time. Ten years later, my global corporation bought his family's puny company and exploited it for everything it was worth, leaving him penniless. Just bide your time as an intern and make a good impression at the company. That way, they'll keep you in mind for future jobs.

to wait patiently. I've been biding my time for years, just waiting for a chance like this. He's not the type just to sit there and bide his time. He wants some action now.

To wait for further developments.

To wait for the right moment to speak or take action. The verb to bide, meaning “to wait for” since about the year 950, survives today only in this cliché. Frederick W. Robertson used the expression in a sermon (1853): “They bide their time and suddenly represent themselves.”