wat

W4A1T1
UK/wat/UK/wɒt/UK, US/wæ(ː)t/

noun

A Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia, especially those in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

“Angkor Wat”

CommonScrabble 6

Meanings

wat1

nounwat (plural wats)

plural wats

  1. A Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia, especially those in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

    Angkor Wat

    5 more examples

    There are two wats near this village.

    Having at last got past the crowd of boats, we advanced rapidly for two hours more, when we stopped at a wat, in order to give the men a rest.

    1857, Sir John Bowring, The kingdom and people of Siam, volume 1, page 165

    Aside from its religious function in the community, the wat also performs a large variety of social functions.

    1982, Carlo Caldarola, Religions and societies, Asia and the Middle East, page 379

    It would be a mistake, however, to emphasize the Hindu element in Cambodian Buddhism and Cambodian temples. At its greatest it is always a subordinate element and in most of the wats or temples it hardly appears at all, […]

    1996, James Bissett Pratt, The Pilgrimage of Buddhism and a Buddhist Pilgrimage, page 194

    It is often possible to discern the motivation or importance of a wat by examining its name

    1999, Steve Van Beek with Luca Invernizzi, The arts of Thailand, page 15

wat2

noun
  1. cookingA kind of stew or curry eaten in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

    In Ethiopia, a volcanic pepper and spice seasoning, berbere, is widely used, and the stews called wats are eaten with a spongy flat bread, injera.

    [1987 July 29, Steven Barboza, “Culinary Delights of Africa Reflect a Continent's Diversity”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

wat3

pronoun
  1. InternetalternativeinformalAlternative spelling of what.
adverbwat (not comparable)
  1. Internetalternativeinformalnot comparableAlternative spelling of what.
determiner
  1. InternetalternativeinformalAlternative spelling of what.

    Then, in a staggering display of empathy for the deceased lacking, this friend segues to the narcissist nub of the matter: "Omg wat if yu get arrested b4 yur bdai."

    2009 March 10, Rosie DiManno, “Murder reduced to infantile online postings”, in Toronto Star, archived from the original on 13 Mar 2009

Wat4

proper noun
  1. A medieval English given name, short for Walter or from the Anglo-Saxon name Watt.

WAT5

proper noun
  1. abbreviationhobbiesAbbreviation of Waterford.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

wat · noun

  1. Thaiวัด
  2. Englishwat

Borrowed from Thai วัด (wát).

Full word history & related roots →

wat · noun

  1. Amharicወጥ
  2. Amharicወጥ
  3. Englishwat

Borrowed from Amharic ወጥ (wäṭ).

Full word history & related roots →

wat · pronoun, adverb, determiner

Variation of what, used for humorous effect.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 佛寺, 寺院
  • 佛寺 (fósì)Buddhist temple
  • 寺院 (fóyuàn)Buddhist temple
  • 漥寺 (wāsì)Buddhist temple
  • 洼寺 (wāsì)Buddhist temple
Czech wat
  • watBuddhist temple
Finnish buddhalainen temppeli, wat
  • buddhalainen temppeliBuddhist temple
  • watBuddhist temple
Japanese 寺院, ワット
  • 寺院 (ji'in)Buddhist temple
  • ワット (watto)Buddhist temple
Korean 와트, 사원
  • 와트 (wateu)Buddhist temple
  • 사원 (sawon)Buddhist temple
Malay wat
  • watBuddhist temple
Portuguese wat
  • watBuddhist temple
Russian ват
  • ват (vat)Buddhist temple
Spanish templo budista
  • templo budistaBuddhist temple
Thai วัด
  • วัด (wát)Buddhist temple

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wat

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

wat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wat

MLA

“wat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wat. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wat,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wat.

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