Meanings
waffle1
plural waffles
- A flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern, often eaten hot with butter and/or honey or syrup.
The brunch was waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.
1 more example
This takeaway counter serves up some of Hong Kong's best eggettes, the egg-shaped waffles beloved by local children and adults alike.
2017, Piera Chen, Emily Matchar, Lonely Planet Pocket Hong Kong - alsoattributivebusinessA concrete slab used in flooring with a gridlike structure of ribs running at right angles to each other on its underside.
In one-way (pan joist) and two-way (waffle) joist construction, a similar layout is usually adopted.
2008, Edward G. Nawy, Concrete Construction Engineering Handbook, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 92 more examples
Both joists and slab are cast in place to form a monolithic unit, integral with the supporting beams and columns. The joists form a characteristic waffle pattern on the underside. Structural design of joist construction: one-way or waffle flat slab […]
1970, Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, Manual of Standard PracticeThe most widely used type of waffle construction is the waffle flat slab, in which solid portions around column supports are […] These beams may be produced as projections below the waffle, as shown […]
1993, Harry Parker, James Ambrose, Simplified Engineering for Architects and Builders
present singular third person waffles · participle present waffling · participle past waffled · past waffled
- slangtransitiveTo smash (something).
The cab was waffled in between the two, Marsh never having a prayer or even a full comprehension of what happened to him. He was crushed flat, never even hearing the deafening screech of metal.
1995, Peter Allen David, The Incredible Hulk: What savage beast3 more examples
These were not the Cowboys who were waffled, 45–14, here at mid-season. They came prepared to play a championship football game, with an ultra-conservative game plan suited to the horrendous turf conditions, and came close to pulling it off …
1997, Bill Conlin, Kevin Kerrane (editor), "Batting cleanup, Bill Conlin", page 121Then I waffled him and knocked him down. Why I cut myself open with the razor, I'm not completely sure. I was like the idiot in a bar who gets all worked up and smashes a bottle over his head [...]
2005, Shawn Michaels, with Aaron Feigenbaum, Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story, page 47Bednarik, however, says the play became legendary only because of the circumstances. "I did it [...] to the top honcho. He just happened to be there and the pass was thrown to him. I waffled him cleanly." [...] "He just cold-cocked Frank," said linebacker Bob Pellegrini, whose injury sent Bednarik into the game to play defense.
2006, Gordon Forbes, Tales from the Eagles Sideline, updated edition, page 2
waffle2
present singular third person waffles · participle present waffling · participle past waffled · past waffled
- UKintransitiveTo speak or write evasively or vaguely.
He waffled on for much of the earnings call without addressing the fall in share price.
1 more example
Again the answer was "waffled," for this did not say that no air units had been alerted. Only that none had been "identified." Moreover, the reply concerned air "unit[s]" as opposed to "air craft".
1970, John Galloway, The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, page 115Synonyms: beat around the bush
- intransitiveOf a bird: to move in a side-to-side motion while descending before landing.
The geese waffled as they approached the water.
Synonyms: whiffle
- ScotlandcolloquialintransitiveTo be indecisive about something; to dither, to vacillate, to waver.
I waffled between going to the deposition and going to the doctor's. Wishing Barbara was there, I decided to call the doctor afterward.
2011, Tony Hefner, Between the Fences2 more examples
But as Germany struggles to overcome its post-World War II reluctance to lead on security matters in Europe and set aside its instinct to accommodate rather than confront Russia, Europe’s most pivotal country has waffled in the first crucial test for the new government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
2022 January 25, Katrin Bennhold, “Where Is Germany in the Ukraine Standoff? Its Allies Wonder.”, in The New York Times, →ISSNA source close to Altman says the board had agreed in principle to resign and to allow Altman and Brockman to return, but has since waffled — missing a key 5PM PT deadline by which many OpenAI staffers were set to resign.
2023 November 18, Nilay Patel, “OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO”, in The VergeSynonyms: blow hot and cold
- ambitransitiveOften followed by on: to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point; to ramble.
The whole thing ended suddenly when the hotel manager arrived. He waffled on for a bit; this settled everyone down.
2006, Carl Storm, A Mighty Fine Way to Live and Die, Backstrap Ltd, page 83 more examples
Unless you have a great line in gags or repartee don't waffle on aimlessly to your audience, or make in-jokes among yourselves, the band or the compere/DJ.
1976, Tony Hatch, So you want to be in the music business, Everest Books, page 68Before getting down to the nitty gritty of beekeeping, most contributors to BBJ like to waffle on for a bit about the weather, the state of their garden or something equally inconsequential.
1984, “Apiary Antics- No.5”, in British bee journal, volumes 112-113, page 68She waffled on for ages. Usually I'd say something smart or make it obvious that I wasn't interested and couldn't be bothered listening.
2005, Bill Condon, No Worries, Univ. of Queensland Press, page 78Synonyms: babble, bat the breeze, blab, blabber, blather, carp, chat, chatter
- transitiveTo hold horizontally and rotate (one's hand) back and forth in a gesture of ambivalence or vacillation.
“[…] You get anything useful on the background checks?” / He waffled his hand. “Nothing like what you brought back, but still some interesting notes.[…]”
2007, Michael Koryta, Sorrow’s Anthem, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 146
- colloquialuncountable(Often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious.
This interesting point seems to get lost a little within a lot of self-important waffle.
Synonyms: babble, bavardage, bibble-babble, blab, blabber, blabbing, blather, blathering
waffle3
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo speak or write evasively or vaguely.
verbOf a bird: to move in a side-to-side motion while descending before landing.
verbTo be indecisive about something; to dither, to vacillate, to waver.
verbOften followed by on: to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point; to ramble.
noun(Often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
waffle · noun, verb
- GermanWaffel“waffle; wafer”
- Proto-Indo-European*webʰ-“to braid, weave”
- Proto-Germanic*wēbilǭ
- Old Dutch*wāvila
- Middle Dutchwafel
- Dutchwafel“waffle; wafer”
- Englishwaffle
The noun is borrowed from Dutch wafel (“waffle; wafer”), from Middle Dutch wafel, wafele, wavel, from Old Dutch *wāvila, from Proto-Germanic *wēbilǭ, *wēbilō, possibly related to Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”) (whence Dutch weven (“to weave”) and English weave; compare, from the same verbal root, German Wabe (“honeycomb”), given that the grid pattern of the traditional Dutch lent and holiday pastry strikingly resembles a honeycomb), and possibly reinforced by German Waffel (“waffle; wafer”). The English word is a doublet of wafer and gauffre. The verb (“to smash”) derives from the manner in which batter is pressed into the shape of a waffle between the two halves of a waffle iron.
More words from Dutch, Middle Dutch, Old Dutch
Full word history & related roots →waffle · verb, noun
- Proto-Indo-European*webʰ-“to braid, weave”
- Proto-Germanic*wabōną
- Old Englishwafian“to wave”
- Northern Middle Englishwafe
- Middle Scotswaff“signal; gust of wind; glimpse; a flapping, waving”
- Scotswaffle“to waver, flap, flutter”
- Englishwaffle
The verb is borrowed from Scots waffle (“to waver, flap, flutter”), from waff (“to wag, wave; to flap, flutter”) + -le (diminutive or frequentative suffix), from Middle Scots waff (“signal; gust of wind; glimpse; a flapping, waving”), from Northern Middle English wafe, waffe, a variant of waven (“to move to and fro, sway; to stray, wander; (figuratively) to follow a weaving course; (figuratively) to vacillate, waver; to move something to and fro, wave”) (whence wave), from Old English wafian (“to wave”), from Proto-Germanic *wabōną, *wabjaną (“to sway; to wander”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”). Regarding sense 5 (“to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point”), compare Old English wæflian (“to talk foolishly”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Germanic *babalōną (“to babble, chatter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- (“to say”) and/or Proto-Indo-European *baba- (“to talk vaguely; to mumble”). The Oxford English Dictionary does not derive the English word waffle from this Old English word. Compare also Dutch wauwelen (“to linger, waffle, jabber, gab, chat”). The noun is derived from the verb.
More words from Scots, Middle Scots, Northern Middle English
Full word history & related roots →waffle · verb, noun
Possibly from waff (“(dialectal) to bark, woof”) (imitative of a dog’s yelp) + -le (diminutive or frequentative suffix).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic وَافِل
- وَافِل (wāfil)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Bulgarian гофрѐта, картофена гофрета
- гофрѐта (gofrèta)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- картофена гофрета (kartofena gofreta)savoury flat potato cake with the same kind of grid pattern
- шикалкавя (šikalkavja)to speak or write evasively or vaguely
- тътря се (tătrja se)of an aircraft or motor vehicle: to travel in a slow and unhurried manner
- бъбря (băbrja)to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- ломотя (lomotja)to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- шикалкавене (šikalkavene)(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Catalan gofra
- gofraflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Chinese Cantonese 格仔餅 /格仔饼
- 格仔餅 /格仔饼 (gaak³ zai² beng²)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Chinese Mandarin 華夫 /华夫, 窩夫 /窝夫
- 華夫 /华夫 (huáfū)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- 窩夫 /窝夫 (wōfū)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- 鬆餅 /松饼 (sōngbǐng)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Czech vafle
- vafleflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Danish vaffel
- vaffelflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Dutch wafel, zwetsen
- wafelflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- zwetsento speak or write evasively or vaguely
- zwammento speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- gezwam(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- wollige taal(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Esperanto vaflo
- vafloflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Estonian vahvel, loba
- vahvelflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- loba(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Finnish vohveli, jaaritus
- vohveliflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- jaaritus(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- jaarittelu(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
French gaufre, langue de bois
- gaufreflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- langue de bois(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
German Waffel, ausweichen
- Waffelflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- ausweichento speak or write evasively or vaguely
- um den heißen Brei herumredento speak or write evasively or vaguely
- gemächlich dahingleitenof an aircraft or motor vehicle: to travel in a slow and unhurried manner
- schwafelnto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- Geschwafel(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- leere Phrasen(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Greek βάφλα
- βάφλα (váfla)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Hindi डगमगाना, हड़बड़ाना
- डगमगाना (ḍagamgānā)to speak or write evasively or vaguely
- हड़बड़ाना (haṛabṛānā)to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
Hungarian gofri, halandzsázik
- gofriflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- halandzsázikto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- szövegelto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- mellébeszélto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- rizsázikto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- rizsálto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- süketelto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- nyomja a sódertto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- hantázikto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- halandzsa(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- mellébeszélés(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- szövegelés(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- süketelés(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- duma(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- rizsa(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- sóder(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- hanta(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Icelandic vaffla, bull
- vafflaflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- bull(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- þvaður(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Indonesian wafel
- wafelflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Irish vaiféal
- vaiféalflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Italian ferratella, blaterare ciarlare cianciare
- ferratellaflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- blaterare ciarlare cianciareto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
Japanese ワッフル, ごちゃごちゃ言う
- ワッフル (waffuru)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- ごちゃごちゃ言う (gochagocha iu)to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- むだ口 (mudaguchi)(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Korean 와플, 거만한 말
- 와플 (wapeul)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- 거만한 말 (geomanhan mal)(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Latvian vafele
- vafeleflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Malay wafel
- wafelflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Māori hākirikiri, waha hakirara
- hākirikirito speak or write evasively or vaguely
- waha hakirarato speak or write evasively or vaguely
- waha hakirara(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Norwegian Bokmål vaffel
- vaffelflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Polish gofr, wodolejstwo
- gofrflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- wodolejstwo(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Portuguese waffle, gofre
- waffleflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- gofreflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- palrarto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- palrança(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- palração(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
- palha(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Russian ва́фля, лить во́ду
- ва́фля (váflja)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- лить во́ду (litʹ vódu)to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- болта́ть по́пусту (boltátʹ pópustu)to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
- трепа́ться без то́лку (trepátʹsja bez tólku)to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
Spanish waffle, wafle
- waffleflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- wafleflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- gofreflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- guafleflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- divagarto speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point — see also ramble
Swedish våffla
- våfflaflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Ukrainian ва́фля
- ва́фля (váflja)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Welsh waffl, wafflo
- wafflflat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
- waffloto speak or write evasively or vaguely
- waffl(often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious
Yiddish וואַפֿליע
- וואַפֿליע (vaflye)flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with waffle
All rhymes →Cite this entry
waffle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waffle
“waffle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waffle. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “waffle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waffle.
Source: waffle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.