Meanings
waive1
present singular third person waives · participle present waiving · participle past waived · past waived · alternative obsolete wave
- transitivelawTo relinquish (a right etc.); to give up claim to; to forgo.
If you waive the right to be silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
3 more examples
Exhibiting what the dramatic critics call a "fine restraint," he waives his timely opportunity for discourse upon the celebrated gyascutus, which, as any Northwestern tourist will tell you, haunts the slopes of the most precipitous mountains—always evading capture because its legs, shorter on the one side of the body than on the other, are peculiarly adapted to scooting up an inclined plane.
1907, John Ames Mitchell, Life - Volume 50, page 270The federal government will ban the import of live northern snakeheads beginning Friday, waiving the normal 30-day waiting period
2002 March 10, Kory Dodd, “Feds Announce Regs to Ban 'Frankenfish' Imports”, in FOX NewsWhile there’s no reliable data on micro-housing, some notable policies and projects are popping up on that front too. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg waived the city’s zoning standards to allow micro-apartments.
2016 December 28, Dan Hernandez, “Is an even smaller New York apartment the key to sustainable living?”, in The Guardian- transitiveparticularlylawTo relinquish claim on a payment or fee which would otherwise be due.
- CanadaUStransitivehobbiesTo release [a player] onto the waiver wire
Nearly 1,200 players will be cut, waived, or sent packing, and the scramble to land on a practice squad or catch on elsewhere will move fast.
2025 August 24, Ryan Miller, “NFL roster cuts 2025: What to know about 53-man deadline, waivers, and practice squads”, in Rochester Democrat and Chronicle1 more example
Jaden Ivey has played his last game in Chicago, with the Bulls waiving Ivey following his controversial comments on social media about the LGBTQ community.
2026 March 31, Chris Mannix, “Chris Mannix’s NBA Notes: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks Future, Jaden Ivey’s Ugly Exit”, in Sports Illustrated
- obsoleteTo outlaw (someone).
waive2
present singular third person waives · participle present waiving · participle past waived · past waived · alternative obsolete wave
- obsoleteTo move from side to side; to sway.
waive3
plural waives · alternative obsolete wave
- obsoleteA waif; a castaway.
But vvhat a vvretched, and diſconſolate Hermitage is that Houſe, vvhich is not viſited by thee [God], and vvhat a VVayue, and Stray is that Man, that hath not thy Markes vpon him?
1624, John Donne, “13. Prayer”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, page 329
Synonyms & antonyms
verbdo without or cease to hold or adhere to
verblose (something) or lose the right to (something) by some error, offense, or crime
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
waive · verb
- Old Frenchwaif“waif”
- Anglo-Normanweyver“to abandon, allow to become a waif”
- Middle Englishweyven“to avoid, renounce”
- Englishwaive
From Middle English weyven (“to avoid, renounce”), from Anglo-Norman weyver (“to abandon, allow to become a waif”), from Old French waif (“waif”), from gaiver (“to abandon”), ultimately of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin; see weyver.
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French
Full word history & related roots →waive · verb
- Proto-Germanic*waibijaną
- Old Norseveifa“to wave, swing”
- Middle Englishweyven“to wave, waver”
- Englishwaive
From Middle English weyven (“to wave, waver”), from Old Norse veifa (“to wave, swing”) (Norwegian veiva), from Proto-Germanic *waibijaną.
More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →waive · noun
- Anglo-Normanwaive
- Englishwaive
From Anglo-Norman waive, probably as the past participle of weyver, as Etymology 1, above.
More words from Anglo-Norman
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian оставям настрани, отказвам се
- оставям настрани (ostavjam nastrani)to put aside, avoid
- отказвам се (otkazvam se)to relinquish; to give up claim to
Dutch afzien van, laten varen
- afzien vanto put aside, avoid
- laten varento put aside, avoid
- opgevento put aside, avoid
- verzakento put aside, avoid
- verlatento abandon, give up
- opgevento abandon, give up
- afzien vanto relinquish; to give up claim to
- laten varento relinquish; to give up claim to
- opgevento relinquish; to give up claim to
- verzakento relinquish; to give up claim to
- zwenkento sway
Finnish luopua, luopua
- luopuato put aside, avoid
- luopuato relinquish; to give up claim to
French renoncer à
- renoncer àto relinquish; to give up claim to
German verlassen, aufgeben
- verlassento put aside, avoid
- aufgebento put aside, avoid
- verzichtento relinquish; to give up claim to
- aufgebento relinquish; to give up claim to
Hungarian eltekint, felfüggeszt
- eltekintto put aside, avoid
- felfüggesztto put aside, avoid
- lemondto relinquish; to give up claim to
- nem vesz igénybeto relinquish; to give up claim to
- nem él (vele)to relinquish; to give up claim to
- feladto relinquish; to give up claim to
Italian evitare, abbandonare
- evitareto put aside, avoid
- abbandonareto abandon, give up
- rinunciareto relinquish; to give up claim to
- ondeggiareto sway
- fuorileggeoutlawed woman
Māori tuku
- tukuto relinquish; to give up claim to
Polish zrezygnować
- zrezygnowaćto relinquish; to give up claim to
Russian отбрасывать, отверга́ть
- отбрасывать (otbrasyvatʹ)to put aside, avoid
- отверга́ть (otvergátʹ)to put aside, avoid
- отка́зываться (otkázyvatʹsja)to relinquish; to give up claim to
Spanish abandonar, dejar de lado
- abandonarto put aside, avoid
- dejar de ladoto put aside, avoid
- proscribirto outlaw
- abandonarto abandon, give up
- dispensarto relinquish; to give up claim to
- renunciar ato relinquish; to give up claim to
- no aplicarto relinquish; to give up claim to
- no exigirto relinquish; to give up claim to
- prescindir deto relinquish; to give up claim to
- exonerar deto relinquish; to give up claim to
Swedish avsäga sig, avstå från
- avsäga sigto relinquish; to give up claim to
- avstå frånto relinquish; to give up claim to
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with waive
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
waive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waive
“waive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waive. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “waive,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waive.
Source: waive on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.