# waive

> English word · Verb · IPA /weɪv/ · frequency rank #21,411

## Definitions
1. To relinquish (a right etc.); to give up claim to; to forgo.
2. To relinquish (a right etc.); to give up claim to; to forgo.
3. To put aside, avoid.
4. To outlaw (someone).
5. To abandon, give up (someone or something).

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **Wie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wie)
- **WAV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wav)
- **wife** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wife)
- **wide** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wide)
- **wake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wake)
- **wine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wine)
- **wave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wave)
- **wise** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wise)
- **wire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wire)
- **wipe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wipe)
- **ware** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-ware)
- **wavy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wavy)
- **wane** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wane)
- **wale** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wale)
- **wile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wile)
- **wove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-wove)
- **while** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-while)
- **white** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-white)
- **we've** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-we-ve)
- **write** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waive-vs-write)

## Common misspellings (6)
`awive`, `waiev`, `waivve`, `wavie`, `wiave`, `wwaive`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/waive