Definition
An ATC instruction directing a pilot to taxi onto the active runway, align the aircraft with the runway centerline, and hold position there until a takeoff clearance is issued. It is not a clearance to take off — it is only authorization to enter the runway and wait.
Plain English
Move onto the runway, line up ready for takeoff, and stay there until the controller clears you to go. You are on the runway, but you have not been told to take off yet.
Context Anchor
Heard in tower-controlled airport radio calls before departure when the controller wants an aircraft positioned on the runway but is not ready to clear it for takeoff yet.
Why Pilots Care
Ensures safe sequencing of aircraft on the runway and reduces the risk of runway incursions by keeping only one aircraft in position at a time.
Intuition Check
Do not treat “Line up and Wait” as casual permission to get ready wherever you are. In ATC use, it specifically means enter the runway, line up for departure, and wait; it does not mean take off.
Example Sentence 1
Tower instructed, 'Cessna 12345, Runway 27, line up and wait,' so the pilot taxied onto the runway, aligned with the centerline, and held position.
Example Sentence 2
After acknowledging the line up and wait instruction, the pilot taxied into position and scanned the final approach for traffic.