English dictionary — definitions & meanings

wa

noun

A cultural value in Japanese society that emphasises group harmony over individual interests.

waal

name

A river, a distributary of the Rhine in Western Europe that runs through the Netherlands.

Wabash

name

A river in the American Midwest and a town in Indiana named after it.

wack

adjective

Bad or lame in an annoying, disappointing way; uncool, corny, or messed up.

wackadoodle

adj

Crazy, irrational, or eccentric.

wacko

adjective

Eccentric or irrational in a way that's amusing rather than alarming.

wacky

adjective

Amusingly odd, silly, or eccentric.

Waco

name

A city in Georgia, United States.

wad

noun

A thick, compact lump or bundle of something soft.

Wada

name

A Japanese surname.

wadding

noun

Wads collectively.

waddle

verb

To walk with short steps, rocking from side to side.

wade

verb

To walk through water or another substance that slows you down.

wadi

noun

A valley or streambed in North Africa or the Middle East that stays dry except during rare rains.

wading

adjective

Suitable or fit for walking through water on foot, especially shallow water.

Wadsworth

name

An English surname and place name, from an Old English term for an enclosure or homestead.

wafer

noun

A thin, crisp, flat biscuit.

waffle

noun

A crisp pastry with a grid pattern, usually eaten hot with syrup or toppings.

waffling

noun

A repetitive speech or response to a question.

waft

verb

To (cause to) float easily or gently through the air.

wafting

noun

The gentle drifting of a smell or sound through the air.

wafture

noun

Something that is wafted, such as a smell or sound.

wafty

adj

Tending to waft; gaseous, insubstantial.

wag

verb

To swing repeatedly from side to side.

wage

noun

Money paid to a worker, usually calculated by the hour.

waged

adjective

Employed and receiving a wage.

wager

noun

A bet or a stake placed on the outcome of something uncertain.

wagerer

noun

A person who wagers or bets.

wages

noun

The total money someone earns over a given period of work.

wagging

noun

The repeated side-to-side movement of something.

waggish

adj

witty, jocular, like a wag

waggle

verb

To move (something) with short, quick motions; to wobble.

wagon

noun

A four-wheeled vehicle used for carrying heavy loads, historically pulled by horses.

wagoner

noun

Someone who drives a wagon.

wagonload

noun

The amount that can be loaded onto a wagon.

wagonmaster

noun

The man in charge of a wagon.

wagpastie

noun

A rogue; a rascal; a scoundrel.

Wagstaff

name

An English surname, historically a nickname for a quarrelsome person, from "wag" and "staff".

wagstaffe

name

A suburb in Central Coast council area, New South Wales, Australia.

wagwan

intj

A greeting, equivalent to what's up or what's happening.

wah

interjection

A cry expressing sudden fright, distress, or a baby's crying.

wahey

interjection

An exclamation of excitement or delight.

wahoo

noun

A fast-swimming tropical game fish prized by anglers.

wai

noun

A traditional Thai greeting made by pressing the palms together, often with a slight bow.

waif

noun

A person, especially a child, who is thin, pale and homeless or uncared for.

Waikiki

name

A famous beachfront neighbourhood in Honolulu, Hawaii, known for its beach and hotels.

wail

verb

To cry out loudly in grief, pain, or sorrow.

wailing

noun

Loud, prolonged crying or howling, usually from grief.

wain

noun

A wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen.

wainman

name

A surname from Middle English.

wainscot

noun

An area of wooden (especially oaken) panelling on the lower part of a room’s walls.

wainwright

noun

A person whose trade is building or repairing wagons.

waist

noun

The narrow part of the body between the ribs and the hips.

waistband

noun

The strip of fabric that fits around the waist on trousers or a skirt.

waistcloth

noun

A cloth or garment worn around the waist.

waistcoat

noun

A sleeveless, collarless garment worn over a shirt and under a jacket, chiefly British.

waistline

noun

The measurement around the body at the waist, or the line marking it.

wait

noun

A period spent staying where you are, or delaying action, until something happens.

waiter

noun

A person who serves customers at their tables in a restaurant or café.

Waiters

name

An English surname derived from the occupation of a watchman or guard.

waiting

noun

The act of remaining somewhere until something happens.

waitress

noun

A woman who serves customers at their tables in a restaurant or café.

waits

noun

A small group of singers or musicians who go around performing in the streets, traditionally around Christmas.

waive

verb

To voluntarily give up a right, claim, or requirement.

waiver

noun

A document or formal statement giving up a legal right or claim.

wake

verb

To stop sleeping, or to rouse someone from sleep.

wakeaday

adj

mundane (as one wakes up to each day)

wakefield

noun

In physics, the powerful electric field trailing behind an intense laser or particle beam as it moves through a plasma, used to accelerate particles to very high energies.

wakeful

adj

Awake; not sleeping.

wakefulness

noun

The state of being wakeful.

wakeless

adj

Without (the possibility of) waking.

waken

verb

To wake up, or to cause someone to wake up.

wakening

noun

The act of awaking, or ceasing to sleep.

wakes

noun

A traditional local holiday or festival, especially in northern England.

wakesome

adj

Marked by wakefulness or alertness; vigilant.

wakey

interjection

Used playfully to tell someone to wake up.

waking

adjective

Happening while someone is awake, as opposed to during sleep.

Wal

name

A short, informal form of the given name Walter or Walter-derived names.

Walcott

name

An English surname, also borne by the Nobel Prize-winning Caribbean poet Derek Walcott.

wald

noun

Power; strength.

Waldemar

name

A masculine given name of Germanic origin, meaning "famous ruler".

Walden

name

An English surname and place name, also the title of a Henry David Thoreau essay set at Walden Pond.

waldmeister

noun

A herb used (particularly in Germany and central Europe) for flavouring wines and liqueurs, Galium odoratum.

waldo

noun

A mechanical or robotic arm operated remotely by a human, used to handle dangerous or delicate materials from a safe distance.

Waldorf

name

A surname of German origin, and the name of a famous hotel in New York City.

Waldron

name

An English surname and place name, from Old English words meaning "wood on a hill".

wale

noun

A ridge or low barrier.

waled

name

A male given name from Arabic, variant of Walid.

waleed

name

A male given name from Arabic, variant of Walid.

Wales

name

A country that is part of the United Kingdom, located on a peninsula in the west of Great Britain.

walhalla

name

A city in North Dakota, United States.

Walid

name

A masculine given name of Arabic origin, meaning "newborn" or "newborn child".

walk

verb

To move on foot at a normal pace, always keeping at least one foot on the ground.

walkabout

noun

A public appearance where a famous or important person strolls through a crowd to meet people informally.

walkaway

noun

A case of a person walking away (e.g. an inmate from a facility, a cult member from a community); a person who walks away.

walker

noun

A person who walks, especially for exercise or leisure.

walkie

noun

Informal short form of walkie-talkie, a two-way portable radio.

walking

adjective

Moving on foot, especially at an ordinary, unhurried pace, as opposed to running.

walkman

noun

A portable cassette player with headphones, originally a Sony brand that became a generic term.

walkout

noun

A sudden work stoppage or strike, or a mass protest where people leave in unison.

walkover

noun

An easy victory; a walkaway.

walkthrough

noun

A tour of a space, such as a property for sale or rent.

walkway

noun

A path or passage designed for people to walk along.

wall

noun

A solid upright structure that encloses, divides, or protects an area.

Walla

name

A place name element, as in Walla Walla, a city in the state of Washington, USA.

wallaby

noun

Any of several species of macropod marsupials; usually smaller and stockier than kangaroos.

Wallace

name

A Scottish surname and given name, from a term meaning "foreigner" or "Welshman", historically borne by the Scottish hero William Wallace.

wallah

noun

A servant or other person responsible for something, often specified before it, for example kitchen wallah.

Wallander

name

A Swedish surname, most known as the name of detective Kurt Wallander in Henning Mankell's novels.

wallaroo

noun

Any of three closely related species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies.

wallboard

noun

A construction material of pre-made boards used for walls and ceilings, usually a gypsum core with a paper surface.

walled

adjective

Enclosed or surrounded by a wall.

waller

noun

A person whose trade is building stone or brick walls.

wallet

noun

A small flat case for carrying cash, cards, and other personal items.

walleye

noun

One or a pair of sideways-looking misaligned eyes.

wallflower

noun

A person who feels too shy to join in at a party or dance and ends up standing on the sidelines.

walling

noun

Material used to build walls, or the collective structure of walls.

Wallis

name

An English surname and given name, a variant of Wallace, also borne by Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor.

walloon

name

A Romance language traditionally spoken in parts of southern Belgium and a small strip of northern France (around Givet).

wallop

verb

To hit someone or something very hard.

walloper

noun

One who wallops.

walloping

adj

Whopping, large in size.

wallow

verb

To roll around in mud, water, or something similarly messy.

wallowing

noun

The act of rolling in mud or indulging excessively in a feeling.

wallowish

adj

Tasteless or having an unpleasant taste; nauseous, sickly-sweet.

wallpaper

noun

Decorative paper or paper-like material used to cover interior walls.

Wally

noun

(British, informal) A foolish or incompetent person.

Walmart

noun

A large American discount retail chain that sells groceries alongside general merchandise, with stores across several countries.

walnut

noun

A tree of the genus Juglans, grown for its wood and edible nuts.

Walpole

name

An English surname and place name, borne by Sir Robert Walpole, widely considered Britain's first prime minister.

walrus

noun

A large Arctic marine mammal with tusks, thick wrinkled skin, and flippers.

Walsh

name

An Irish surname, historically meaning "Welshman" or foreigner from Wales.

walshe

name

An Irish surname transferred from the nickname of Anglo-Norman origin, meaning Briton or foreigner. Also a translation of Breathnach, with the same meaning.

Walt

noun

British slang for someone who falsely claims to be, or exaggerates being, a military veteran.

Walter

name

A masculine given name of Germanic origin, meaning "ruler of the army".

Walters

name

An English surname meaning "son of Walter".

Walther

name

A German surname, a variant spelling of Walter, also the name of a well-known German firearms manufacturer.

waltz

noun

A ballroom dance in triple time, or the music written for it.

waltzer

noun

One who dances the waltz.

wampum

noun

Small cylindrical beads made from polished shells (especially white ones) which have been strung together, formerly used by Native American peoples of eastern North America for various purposes including as jewellery and money, and for record-keeping; (countable, archaic) one such bead.

wan

adj

Pale and looking unwell or tired.

wand

noun

A slender rod held in the hand, especially one used by a magician or as a symbol of authority.

Wanda

name

A feminine given name possibly of Germanic or Slavic origin, associated with the Wends, a Slavic people.

wander

verb

To move around without a fixed destination or purpose.

Wanderer

noun

Someone who travels or roams without a fixed destination.

wandering

adj

Moving from place to place without a settled route or home.

wanderlust

noun

A strong, restless desire to travel and see new places.

Wands

name

A rare surname, likely a variant or diminutive form related to "Wand".

wandwork

noun

The use of a wand (or sometimes a similar instrument or tool, even an extended finger) in practicing magic, casting spells, or performing a mystical or religious ritual or ceremony (e.g. drawing symbols such as pentagrams in the air, as in Wicca).

wandy

adj

Long and flexible, like a wand; wandlike