English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

wateriness

noun

The quality of being watery.

watering

noun

The act of pouring or supplying water onto something, such as plants or land.

waterland

name

The name of a region and municipality in North Holland, Netherlands.

waterless

adj

Dry, with no water present.

waterlogged

adj

Completely soaked with water.

waterlogging

noun

The process of becoming waterlogged.

Waterloo

noun

A decisive, final defeat, especially after a long run of success — from the phrase "meet one's Waterloo."

waterman

noun

A person who works on the water, especially rowing or ferrying passengers by boat.

watermark

noun

A faint design pressed into paper that becomes visible when the paper is held up to the light.

watermelon

noun

A large fruit with a hard green rind and sweet, watery red flesh, or the plant that grows it.

watermill

noun

A mill that is powered by water.

waterproof

adj

Not letting water pass through; able to keep water out completely.

waterproofing

noun

A process applied to something to stop water getting through it.

watershed

noun

The area of land that drains into a particular river, lake, or sea.

waterside

noun

The area of land next to a river, lake or sea.

waterson

name

A family name that began as a patronymic.

waterspout

noun

A spinning column of wind that forms over water and is not part of a storm's rotating core.

waterstuff

noun

Anything that contains or relates to water.

watertight

adj

Sealed so tightly that water cannot get in or out.

waterway

noun

A river, canal, or channel that boats can travel along.

Waterways

name

A rare surname, more commonly a descriptive term for navigable channels of water.

waterworks

noun

The system of pipes, pumps, and reservoirs that supplies water to a town or city.

watery

adj

Containing too much water, or thin and diluted like water.

watkin

name

A family name that began as a patronymic.

Watkins

name

A Welsh surname meaning "son of Walter" or "little Walter".

watkinson

name

A family name that began as a patronymic.

Watson

name

A Scottish and English surname meaning "son of Walter", famously borne by Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

watt

noun

The standard unit of power, equal to one joule of energy transferred per second.

wattle

noun

A structure of woven branches and twigs used to make a wall, fence, or roof.

Watts

name

An English surname meaning "son of Walter", and also a surname borne by the inventor and physicist James Watt.

waugh

name

A surname of Old English origin.

waul

verb

To make a long, sad crying sound.

WAV

noun

An audio file format that normally stores a recording uncompressed, keeping the full sound at the cost of a large file.

wave

noun

A moving ridge on the surface of water, especially the sea.

waved

adj

Having a wavy, undulating shape or outline.

wavefunction

noun

In physics, a mathematical expression that describes how a particle's quantum state behaves and that can be used to find the probability of the particle being in a given region of space.

wavelength

noun

The physical distance between two matching points of a wave, such as crest to crest.

wavelet

noun

A little wave on the surface of water.

waver

verb

To hesitate or show signs of doubt, especially about a decision or resolve.

wavering

adj

Uncertain, indecisive, or unsteady.

waverley

name

A very rare Scottish surname of unknown origin.

Waverly

name

A feminine given name and place name of English origin, meaning "meadow of quivering aspens".

waving

noun

The action of moving something, especially the hand or arm, back and forth as a greeting or signal.

wavy

adj

Having a pattern of curves, rather than being straight or flat.

wawa

noun

A snow goose, a white Arctic-breeding goose species.

wax

noun

A soft, oily solid substance, such as beeswax or paraffin, used for candles, polish, and other purposes.

waxed

adj

Coated or treated with wax, usually to make something shiny, smooth, or water-resistant.

waxen

adj

Made from wax, or coated in it.

waxing

noun

The act of applying wax to something.

waxwing

noun

Any of several crested songbirds of the genus Bombycilla, with red tips to their wings.

waxy

adj

Resembling wax in texture, appearance, or feel.

way

noun

A road, path, or route from one place to another.

way to go

interjection

Said to congratulate someone and show you are impressed by what they have just done.

Waya

name

A given name of Native American (Cherokee) origin, meaning "wolf".

wayfarer

noun

A person who travels, especially on foot.

wayfinding

noun

A person's or animal's capacity to work out its position and find its way; also the process by which they do so.

wayland

name

A mythical smith of Germanic legend.

waylay

verb

To hide and then attack someone by surprise.

Waylon

name

A masculine given name of English origin, possibly meaning "land by the road", popularized by musician Waylon Jennings.

waymark

noun

A clear sign placed along a path to show walkers the way.

Wayne

name

A masculine given name and surname of English origin, from an occupational term for a wagon maker.

waypoint

noun

A clear point marked on a route that helps you find your way.

ways

noun

A distance, especially in the informal phrase "a ways" or "a long ways."

wayside

noun

The edge of a road or path.

wayward

adj

Stubbornly doing things one's own way, ignoring rules or expectations.

wazir

noun

A chess variant piece that can move one square up, down or sideways.

wazoo

noun

Slang for the backside; used mainly in the phrase "out the wazoo," meaning in huge quantity.

wazzer

noun

(informal) A silly or annoying person.

wazzock

noun

(informal) A silly or annoying person.

wbu

abbreviation

What about you? — used in messaging to bounce a question straight back to the person who asked it.

WC

noun

A toilet, or the small room containing one; the standard sign for public lavatories across much of Europe.

wdym

abbreviation

What do you mean? — typed to ask someone to explain what they have just said.

we

pron

The speaker together with at least one other person.

weak

adj

Lacking physical strength or power.

weaken

verb

To make something less strong.

weakened

adj

Made less strong than before.

weakening

noun

A loss or reduction of strength.

weakling

noun

A physically frail or sickly person.

weakly

adv

In a weak manner; without much force.

weakness

noun

The state of lacking strength or power.

weaksauce

adj

(informal) Boring, weak or disappointing.

weal

noun

Money and possessions; riches.

weald

noun

A wooded area; a forest.

wealful

adj

(archaic) Successful and prosperous.

wealth

noun

A large amount of money, property, or valuable possessions.

wealthiness

noun

The state of having wealth.

wealthless

adj

Having hardly any wealth; poor.

wealthy

adj

Having a great deal of money or property; rich.

wean

verb

To gradually stop a baby or young animal from feeding on milk, switching it to other food.

weaning

noun

The process of moving a baby or young animal off milk and on to solid food.

weapon

noun

A tool or device designed to cause harm or damage, used in fighting or hunting.

weaponized

adj

Turned into, or made to function as, a weapon.

weaponry

noun

Weapons considered as a group.

wear

verb

To have clothing, jewellery, or an accessory on one's body.

wearable

adj

Suitable or comfortable to be worn.

wearer

noun

A person who wears something.

weariable

adj

Able to become tired.

weariness

noun

A state of tiredness or exhaustion.

wearing

adj

Causing tiredness or straining one's patience.

wearish

adj

(dialect) Bland and unpleasant to taste.

wearisome

adj

Tiring and boring to deal with.

weary

adj

Very tired, physically or mentally.

wearying

noun

The act of tiring someone out.

weasand

noun

The tube that carries food from the mouth down to the stomach.

weasel

noun

A small, slender carnivorous mammal with a long body and short legs, related to the stoat and ferret.

weaseler

noun

Someone sly who tricks or cheats other people.

weather

noun

The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place — temperature, rain, wind, and so on.

Weatherby

name

An English surname, a variant of "Wetherby."

weathercock

noun

A weathercock is a weather vane, often shaped like a cockerel, that turns to show the direction of the wind.

weathered

adj

Worn or discolored by long exposure to sun, wind, or rain.

weathering

noun

The breaking down of rock, soil and building materials where they lie, caused by rain, frost, wind, heat and chemical reactions with air and water.

weatherman

noun

A person, especially on television or radio, who reports weather conditions and forecasts.

weatherproof

adj

Able to withstand rain, wind and other weather without being harmed.

Weathers

name

An English surname, likely derived from a topographic or occupational term related to weather or sheep-shearing ("wether").

weathervane

verb

To release a crane's brake so that it turns to face the wind and does not tip over.

weave

verb

To make fabric or a similar structure by crossing threads or strands over and under each other.

weaver

noun

A person who weaves cloth, especially as an occupation.

Weavers

name

A surname derived from the occupation of weaving.

weaving

noun

The craft or process of making fabric on a loom.

web

noun

A network of fine threads spun by a spider to catch prey.

web3

noun

A proposed model of the internet in which services run on blockchains rather than on servers owned by companies, so that accounts, data and digital possessions belong to users directly instead of to the platforms they use.

Webb

name

An English and Scottish surname, originally denoting someone who worked as a weaver.

webbed

adj

Having the toes or fingers joined by a membrane of skin.

webber

noun

A person or creature that produces webs, such as a spider.

webbie

noun

Someone who used WebTV, an older service for getting online through a television set.

webbing

noun

A strong, tightly woven fabric strip, used for straps and harnesses.

webby

adj

Resembling a web, or full of webs.

webcam

noun

A small video camera that streams live footage over a computer network, especially the internet.

webcast

noun

A video and/or audio broadcast transmitted via the Internet

webcasting

noun

Sending out video or sound online, often using a webcam.

weber

noun

The SI unit of magnetic flux, symbol Wb — the amount of flux that, when reduced to zero in one second, generates one volt in a single-turn circuit.

webhook

noun

An arrangement in which one online service automatically sends a message to a web address you have given it whenever a particular event happens, so your own system finds out immediately instead of having to keep asking.

webinar

noun

A talk, class or presentation given live over the internet, where the audience watches remotely and can usually ask questions by chat.

webmail

noun

An online service that lets you send, receive and keep email, reached through a web browser rather than a separate program.

WebP

noun

An image format designed for web pages, which can store photographs, graphics with transparency and short animations, usually at a smaller file size than JPEG or PNG.

webside

noun

Used only in the phrase 'webside manner'.

website

noun

A set of connected pages on the internet, usually hosted under one domain and reachable from a common home page.

webster

noun

An old term for a weaver, originally referring specifically to a woman who wove cloth.

wed

verb

To marry someone, or to conduct a marriage ceremony joining two people.

wedded

adj

Joined together in marriage.

wedding

noun

A ceremony in which two people are formally married.

wedge

noun

A piece of material, thick at one end and tapering to a thin edge, used to split, tighten, or lever things apart.

wedged

adj

Firmly stuck or jammed into a tight space.

wedgie

noun

A prank where someone's underwear is yanked sharply upward from behind, wedging the fabric uncomfortably.

wedlock

noun

The state of being legally married.

Wednesday

noun

The day of the week that falls between Tuesday and Thursday.

Wednesdays

adv

On each Wednesday, as a regular occurrence.

wee

adj

Very small; tiny.

weed

verb

To pull unwanted plants out of a garden or field.

weeding

noun

The act of pulling unwanted plants from a garden or field.