waive

Pronunciation

• enPR: wāv, IPA ^(key): /weɪv/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Homophone: wave

Verb

Plain form waive

Third-person singular waives

Past tense waived

Past participle waived

Present participle waiving

1. (transitive) (law) When you waive one of your rights, you decide not to use it; you choose to give it up.

   Because A'isha knew she had done nothing wrong, she decided to waive her right to have a lawyer with her and just tell the policeman what happened.

   Before we went parachuting, the company made us waive our rights to sue them if one of us got hurt.

2. (transitive) If somebody waives something for you, you do not have to do something that is usually required.

   Applying to become a citizen is expensive, but if a person can prove they cannot pay, the government will waive the fees.

   The government usually requires people to learn English in order to become citizens. However, if a person is elderly and has been in the country a long time, the government may waive this requirement.

Related words

• waiver

Homonyms

• wave