wai

W4A1I1
/waɪ//weɪ/

noun

A Thai greeting wherein the palms are brought together in front of the face or chest, sometimes accompanied with a bow.

OriginThai ไหว้ →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

wai1

nounwai (plural wais)

plural wais

  1. A Thai greeting wherein the palms are brought together in front of the face or chest, sometimes accompanied with a bow.

wai2

adverbwai (not comparable)
  1. Internetnot comparablewhy (a purposeful misspelling)

WAI3

proper noun
  1. InternetabbreviationinitialismInitialism of Web Accessibility Initiative, an effort to improve the accessibility of the World Wide Web for people with disabilities.
phrase
  1. abbreviationacronymcomputingAcronym of works as intended: current situation is what was intended and thus not subject to change.
  2. abbreviationacronymcomputingAcronym of working as intended.

Origin

wai · noun

  1. Thaiไหว้“a gesture of thanks”
  2. Englishwai

Borrowed from Thai ไหว้ (wâi, “a gesture of thanks”).

More words from Thai

Full word history & related roots →

wai · adverb

Phonetic respelling of why.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Indonesian sembah
  • sembahThai greeting
Japanese ワイ
  • ワイ (wai)Thai greeting
Korean 와이
  • 와이 (wai)Thai greeting
Malay sembah
  • sembahThai greeting
Russian вай
  • вай (vaj)Thai greeting
Thai ไหว้
  • ไหว้ (wâai)Thai greeting
Vietnamese vái
  • váiThai greeting

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wai

abyimymaymedayrebuyhighwaytodaykywhyreplyjlasayJulyplayzpaytry
All rhymes →

Anagrams

iwa
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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