waive
Americanverb (used with object)
-
waives,
present (3rd person singular)
-
waived,
past participle, past
-
waiving
present participle
-
to refrain from claiming or insisting on; give up; forgo.
to waive one's right;
to waive one's rank;
to waive honors.
- Antonyms:
- demand
-
Law. to relinquish (a known right, interest, etc.) intentionally.
-
to put aside for the time; defer; dispense with.
to waive formalities.
-
to put aside or dismiss from consideration or discussion.
waiving my attempts to explain.
verb
-
to set aside or relinquish
to waive one's right to something
-
to refrain from enforcing (a claim) or applying (a law, penalty, etc)
-
to defer
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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waivesimple
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waivessimple
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have waivedperfect
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has waivedperfect
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am waivingprogressive
-
are waivingprogressive
-
is waivingprogressive
-
have been waivingperfect progressive
-
has been waivingperfect progressive
Past
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waivedsimple
-
had waivedperfect
-
was waivingprogressive
-
were waivingprogressive
-
had been waivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of waive
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English weyven, from Anglo-French weyver “to make a homeless child (of someone) by forsaking or outlawing (that person)”; see waif ( def. )
Explanation
To waive is to give up one's right to do something. If you waive your right to help name your family's new puppy, you can't complain if he ends up being called "Mr. Tinkerbell Sweetheart Lovey-Face." Waive comes from a Middle English word meaning to abandon; the word waif, which refers to a neglected or orphaned child, shares the same root. However, while abandoning a child on a street corner is not okay, waiving one's right to do something is in most cases perfectly acceptable. A document stating one's decision to give up one's rights is appropriately called a waiver.
Vocabulary lists containing waive
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American Football, 3rd Quarter
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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.
See Examples For:
They’ll have to either trade or waive a player to be at the league maximum number of 15.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The newer version does, however, give the White House more authority to waive the oil-and-gas importer penalties if it sees fit.
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026
The decision to waive Balogun's suspension came two days before the United States were beaten 4-1 by Belgium.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
In both cases, the U.S. agreed to waive sanctions and issue authorizations as needed to facilitate the transactions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
When Deborah officially divorced Pullum in 2006, she had to itemize her income as part of a request for the judge to waive her filing fee.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
One plan, for instance, waives unpaid interest if monthly minimum payments aren’t high enough to cover it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
So she sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which waives the U.S. government’s immunity from certain lawsuits.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2026
Frequent users can save $5 per order on average by signing up for the app’s subscription service, DashPass, which costs $9.99 per month or $96 per year and waives fees on certain orders, DoorDash said.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026
The federal program also waives fees and requirements for “legitimate” recycling of certain hazardous wastes, such as scrap metal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025
Some Argie diplomat in New York, still harping on about the Belgrano being outside the zone, said Britain no longer rules the waves, it just waives the rules.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
For instance, someone who purchased a $1,400 laptop in Tennessee during tax-free weekend would save $98 on the waived 7% state sales tax plus $21 to $38 on local taxes, depending on the county.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Company owner Tatiana Kim has promised "not to abandon" the sellers, and she has offered temporary discounts and waived shipment fees, but this has done little to calm fears of further attacks.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Sparks waived their top pick in this year’s draft, Ta’Niya Latson, after barely playing, and she has gone on to join Las Vegas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Unpaid interest is waived if monthly minimum payments aren’t high enough to cover it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The rule was never waived, even when the temperature dropped to the fifties, and a cold, gray rain was falling.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Some sellers reported having to sign clauses waiving their right to compensation in the event of a drone strike on warehouse facilities.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
For 30 days, the president is barred from softening or waiving the statutory sanctions Congress has imposed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Brittan, from Devon, who spoke to the BBC after waiving her automatic lifelong right to anonymity, described the Met as "shambolic, incompetent and complicit".
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Caplin said the league is not interested in waiving blackout rules on a team-by-team basis, even for those teams whose rights no longer are held by a cable or satellite entity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
The judge warned Joe repeatedly that a guilty plea meant waiving his right to a trial, his right to testify, and his right to appeal her ruling.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Definitions 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.
