braai

B3R1A1A1I1
/ˈbɹaɪ̯/[ˈbɹʷaɪ̯]/ˈbɹaː/[ˈbɹʷaː]

noun

A barbecue (grill), especially an open outdoor grill built specifically for the purpose of braaing.

“Come over to our place for a braai.”

OriginAfrikaans braai ← Dutch braden →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

nounbraai (countable and uncountable, plural braais)

plural braais

  1. South AfricacountableuncountableA barbecue (grill), especially an open outdoor grill built specifically for the purpose of braaing.
  2. BotswanaSouth AfricaZimbabwecountableuncountableA social meeting including the braaing of meat; a cookout.

    Come over to our place for a braai.

  3. uncountableMeat cooked by this method.
verbbraai (third-person singular simple present braais, present participle braaing or braaiing, simple past and past participle braaied)

present singular third person braais · participle present braaing · participle present braaiing · participle past braaied · past braaied

  1. South AfricaambitransitiveTo grill meat over an open flame (not on a gas grill).

    […] so we decide to braai some ribs for supper.

    2015 June 1, Pamela Power, Ms Conception, Penguin Random House South Africa, →ISBN
    1 more example

    You sniff the air. Smoke. Spices. One of the residents on the road has been, or perhaps is still, braaing.

    2018, Tsitsi Dangarembga, This Mournable Body, Faber & Faber (2020), page 89

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
barbecue

Origin

  1. Dutchbraden“roast”
  2. Afrikaansbraai“to grill”
  3. Englishbraai

Borrowed from Afrikaans braai (“to grill”), from Dutch braden (“roast”).

More words from Afrikaans, Dutch

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with braai

byimybuyhighywhyreplyjJulytryapplysupplyhieyeguyfidiflyskynearbykyspysi
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

braille (one pronunciation)braille (one pronunciation)

Anagrams

RabiaAbairbariaRiabaIbara
Cite this entry
APA

braai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/braai

MLA

“braai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/braai. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “braai,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/braai.

Source: braai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.