waif
Americannoun
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a person, especially a child, who has no home or friends.
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something found, especially a stray animal, whose owner is not known.
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a very thin, often small person, usually a young woman.
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a stray item or article.
to gather waifs of gossip.
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Nautical. waft.
noun
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a person, esp a child, who is homeless, friendless, or neglected
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anything found and not claimed, the owner being unknown
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nautical another name for waft
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obsolete law a stolen article thrown away by a thief in his flight and forfeited to the Crown or to the lord of the manor
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of waif
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, originally “lost, stray (animal), unclaimed (property)” (compare Old French guaif “stray beast”), from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse veif “movement to and fro, something waving, flag”; see waive
Explanation
No matter how cold-hearted you are, it's tough not to feel sympathy for a waif — a neglected or orphaned child. From Oliver Twist to Harry Potter, literature is filled with stories of young waifs who persevere through hardship. In contrast to street urchins or ragamuffins, waifs are generally seen as wholly innocent victims of their situation. This fact may explain why waifs make such compelling literary protagonists. Who's going to root against a kind-hearted orphan? And who would admit it if they did?
Vocabulary lists containing waif
Esperanza Rising
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 14–18
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a meticulously crafted stop-motion world of gritty dockside poverty, a starving waif discovers the neglected girl in a shabby home weeps not teardrops but pearls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026
The day after she and her husband, Jack, sculpt the figure of a child out of snow, an ethereal waif emerges from the wilderness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
The trial heard him described as a "ruffian" and a "street waif" who never stood still.
From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2025
But by age 12, she found herself worrying that she wasn’t quite the physical ideal espoused by the school’s late founder, George Balanchine: a half-starved waif.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 14, 2023
“I could cover you with weeping sores,” the waif said, “but then innkeeps and taverners would chase you from their doors.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
