English dictionary — definitions & meanings

ween

verb

To suppose, imagine; to think, believe.

weenie

noun

Someone weak and unimportant, a wimp.

weeny

adj

Extremely small; tiny (informal).

weep

verb

To cry, especially with sobbing, as an expression of strong emotion.

weeper

noun

A person who weeps.

weeping

noun

The act of crying, especially with strong emotion.

weepy

adj

Prone to crying easily; tearful.

weet

verb

An old-fashioned or archaic word meaning to know something.

weevil

noun

Any of tens of thousands of species of small beetles, many with a distinctive elongated snout, that typically feed on plants or stored grain.

weft

noun

The horizontal threads that are interlaced through the warp in a woven fabric.

Wegener

name

A surname, most notably borne by Alfred Wegener, the German scientist who proposed the theory of continental drift.

Wehrmacht

name

The unified armed forces of Nazi Germany between 1935 and 1945.

Wei

name

The name of several ancient Chinese states and a kingdom, including a major power during the Three Kingdoms period.

weigh

verb

To find out how heavy something is, usually with scales.

weighing

noun

The process of measuring how heavy something is.

weight

noun

How heavy someone or something is.

weighted

adj

Deliberately given extra importance or a bias in favor of one side.

weightiness

noun

The quality of being weighty.

weighting

noun

The weight or significance given to something, sometimes by means of a statistical multiplier.

weightless

adj

Having no weight, or not affected by the pull of gravity.

weightlessness

noun

The condition of being unaffected by gravity, so that objects float freely.

weightsome

adj

Of, pertaining to, possessing, or characterised by weight; weighty; weightful; heavy; grave; grievous.

weighty

adj

Very heavy.

Weimar

name

A city in Germany, notable as the namesake of the Weimar Republic, Germany's government from 1919 to 1933.

Weinberg

name

A German and Jewish surname meaning "wine mountain" or "vineyard hill".

Weiner

name

A German and Jewish surname meaning "person from Vienna".

Weinstein

name

An occupational or ornamental surname from German.

weir

noun

A low dam built across a river or stream to control the water level or the rate of flow.

weird

adj

Strange, unusual, or hard to explain; not what you would normally expect.

weirdie

noun

Someone or something weird.

weirdly

adv

In a strange or unusual way.

weirdness

noun

The quality of being strange or unusual; strangeness.

weirdo

noun

An odd or eccentric person, especially one who behaves in a way others find unsettling.

weirdsome

adj

Marked by weirdness; strange; mysterious.

weirdy

adj

Somewhat weird, quite weird.

Weiss

name

A German and Jewish surname meaning "white".

welch

verb

To fail to pay a debt or honor a promise, especially a bet.

welcome

adj

Received with pleasure; wanted or appreciated.

welcomed

adj

Greeted warmly, or made to feel accepted.

welcoming

adj

Friendly and open toward guests or newcomers; making people feel at ease.

Weld

verb

To join two pieces of metal by heating them until they fuse, often with added filler material.

welder

noun

A person who joins metal by welding, as a trade or skill.

welding

noun

The process of joining materials, usually metal, by melting them together with heat.

Weldon

name

An English surname and given name, from a place name meaning "hill by a spring".

welfare

noun

A person's general health, happiness, and safety; well-being.

welkin

noun

The sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible; the firmament.

well

adv

In a good, skillful, or satisfactory way.

well versed

adjective

Having a thorough knowledge of a subject or a solid grasp of a skill through study or experience.

well-being

noun

The state of being comfortable, healthy and content in body and mind.

well-known

adjective

Known about by a lot of people; familiar to the public or to a particular group.

Weller

name

An English surname, an occupational name for someone who worked at or lived near a well.

Welles

name

An English surname, most famously borne by filmmaker and actor Orson Welles.

wellied

adj

Wearing Wellington boots.

wellies

noun

Alternative letter-case form of wellies.

welling

noun

The act of rising up and flowing out, the way liquid or emotion can build and spill over.

Wellington

noun

A dish of meat, often beef or salmon, wrapped in pastry and baked, named after the Duke of Wellington.

Wellman

name

An English surname, an occupational name for someone who dug or maintained wells.

wellness

noun

The state of being in good physical and mental health.

Wells

name

An English surname and city in Somerset, England, also borne by writer H. G. Wells.

wellspring

noun

The source of water for a stream, spring or well; a fountainhead; a wellhead.

welp

interjection

A resigned version of "well", said when something has gone wrong or an outcome is out of your hands and there is nothing left to do about it.

wels

name

A city in Wels-Land District, Upper Austria, Austria, south-west of Linz.

Welsh

adj

Relating to Wales, its people, culture, or language.

Welt

noun

A raised red mark on the skin, usually caused by a blow, insect bite, or allergic reaction.

weltanschauung

noun

A person's or a group's conception, philosophy or view of the world; a worldview.

welter

noun

A general confusion or muddle, especially of a large number of items.

Wembley

name

A district in London, England, famous for Wembley Stadium.

wen

noun

A harmless cyst or lump under the skin, especially on the scalp.

wench

noun

An old-fashioned or humorous term for a young woman, sometimes used at Renaissance fairs or in historical fiction.

Wendell

name

A masculine given name of Germanic origin, related to "Wendel", meaning "wanderer".

wendigo

noun

A monstrous, cannibalistic spirit from Algonquian folklore, said to possess and corrupt those who commit acts of cannibalism or extreme greed.

Wendy

noun

Informal British slang for a cowardly or overly cautious person.

wenona

name

A female given name, variant of Winona.

wenonah

name

A female given name, a less common spelling of Winona.

went

verb

Past tense of "go."

Wentworth

name

An English surname and place name, from Old English words meaning "pale-haired one's enclosure".

wer

noun

An archaic word for "man" or "husband," now surviving only inside compound words like "werewolf."

were

verb

Past tense of "be," used with "you," "we," "they," or plural subjects.

werewolf

noun

A mythical human who transforms into a wolf, often said to happen under a full moon.

wergeld

noun

Blood money, the monetary value assigned to a person, set according to their rank, used to determine the compensation paid by the perpetrator of a crime to the victim in the case of injury or to the victim's kindred in the case of homicide; such a reparative payment or compensation.

Werner

name

A German masculine given name and surname, meaning "defending army" or "protecting warrior".

wersh

adj

Insipid; tasteless; delicate; having a pale and sickly look.

Werther

name

A German surname, most famous as the title character of Goethe's novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther".

Wes

name

A short form of the given names Wesley or Weston.

Wescott

name

An English surname, a variant spelling of Westcott, meaning "west cottage".

Wesley

name

A masculine given name and surname of English origin, meaning "west meadow", also the surname of Methodism founder John Wesley.

wesleyan

adj

Of or pertaining to John Wesley (1703-1791), founder of Methodism.

Wessex

name

A historic Anglo-Saxon kingdom in southern England, and the fictional setting of Thomas Hardy's novels.

Wesson

name

An English surname, also part of the Smith & Wesson firearms company name.

west

noun

The compass direction that the sun sets in; the direction 90 degrees anticlockwise from north.

westbound

adj

Travelling or leading toward the west.

Westbrook

name

An English surname and place name meaning "west brook", also a common American town name.

Westchester

name

A county in New York State, just north of New York City.

wester

noun

A strong westerly wind, a wind blowing from the west.

westerly

adj

Facing, lying toward, or coming from the west.

western

adj

Of, in, or relating to the west.

westerner

noun

A person who comes from, or lives in, the western part of a region, country, or the world.

Westinghouse

name

An American surname, best known from inventor and industrialist George Westinghouse.

Westlake

name

An English surname and place name meaning "west lake".

Westley

name

A variant spelling of Wesley, a masculine given name meaning "west meadow".

westman

noun

A person from the west.

Westminster

name

A district in central London, seat of the UK Parliament, named for its ancient "west minster" (monastery).

Westmore

name

An English surname, notably borne by a family of prominent Hollywood makeup artists.

Westmoreland

name

A former county in northwest England, and a surname derived from it.

westmorland

name

A historical county in northwestern England (contained within Cumbria since 1974 and, since 2023, Westmorland and Furness)

Weston

name

An English surname and place name meaning "west settlement", common across England and the United States.

Westport

name

A place name meaning "west port", shared by towns in Ireland, England, and the United States.

westside

noun

The western part of a city, neighbourhood, or district.

westward

adv

Toward the west.

westwards

adv

westward, towards the west

Westwood

name

An English surname and place name meaning "west wood", also a district of Los Angeles.

wet

adj

Covered in or soaked with liquid, usually water.

wetback

noun

A dated, offensive slur for a Mexican or Central American migrant who has crossed into the US illegally.

wetland

noun

Land that is covered mostly with water, with occasional marshy and soggy areas.

wetness

noun

The condition of being wet.

wetting

noun

The act or process of making something wet.

Wexler

name

A Jewish surname of German origin, likely derived from a place name.

wey

noun

An old English measure of weight containing 224 pounds; equivalent to 2 hundredweight.

whack

verb

To hit something hard and sharply.

whacked

adj

Informal: exhausted; worn out.

whacker

noun

One who, or something which, whacks.

whacking

adj

Informal: unusually large; enormous (often paired with another adjective like "great" or "big").

whackjob

noun

A crazy, possibly dangerous, person.

whaddayacallit

noun

A metasyntactic term used for any object whose actual name the speaker does not know or cannot remember.

whale

noun

A very large sea mammal, related to dolphins, that breathes air through a blowhole.

Whalen

name

An Irish surname, an Anglicized form of "Ó Faoláin", meaning "descendant of the little wolf".

whaler

noun

A person who hunts whales, or a ship built for whale hunting.

whaling

noun

The industry or practice of hunting whales, typically for oil, meat, or blubber.

wham

intj

Used to represent the sudden sound of a hard impact, or to signal that something sudden and dramatic has just happened.

whammy

noun

A serious setback, or a run of bad luck, often used in the phrase "double whammy" for two problems hitting at once.

whang

verb

To make a noise like something moving quickly through the air.

whap

verb

To strike hard and suddenly.

wharf

noun

A structure built on a shore or riverbank where ships can dock to load and unload.

wharfage

noun

A dock, quay, or pier.

Wharton

name

An English surname and place name, also the name of the Wharton School of business at the University of Pennsylvania.

what

det

Used to ask for the identity or nature of something, from an open set of possibilities.

what the heck

interjection

An exclamation of surprise, confusion or annoyance at something unexpected.

whatchamacallit

noun

An informal word for an object whose name you can't remember or don't know.

whatdoyoucallit

noun

Something one does not know the name of.

whatever

det

Any at all, no matter which; used to show something applies without restriction.

whatevs

intj

An informal, clipped way of saying "whatever," used to show indifference.

whatness

noun

Essence; quiddity.

whatnot

noun

Small miscellaneous items or odds and ends.

whatsaname

noun

Any object or person whose name one does not know or cannot remember.

WhatsApp

noun

A popular messaging app, launched in 2009 and later bought by Facebook, used for text, voice, and video communication.

whatsis

noun

Any object whose actual name one does not know or cannot remember.

whatsit

noun

An informal name for a thing whose actual name you can't recall or don't want to say.

whatsitsname

noun

Any object whose name one does not know or cannot remember or immediately bring to mind.

whatsoever

det

At all; used after "no," "any," or "none" to add strong emphasis.

whatta

noun

A raised wooden platform once used in Tahiti for offering sacrificed animals.