waffle

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern, often eaten hot with butter and/or honey or…

   A flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern, often eaten hot with butter and/or honey or syrup.

   • The brunch was waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.
   • This takeaway counter serves up some of Hong Kong's best eggettes, the egg-shaped waffles beloved by local children and adults alike.
2. 2

   In full potato waffle

   In full potato waffle: a savoury flat potato cake with the same kind of grid pattern.

3. 3

   A concrete slab used in flooring with a gridlike structure of ribs running at right…

   A concrete slab used in flooring with a gridlike structure of ribs running at right angles to each other on its underside.

   • The most widely used type of waffle construction is the waffle flat slab, in which solid portions around column supports are […] These beams may be produced as projections below the waffle, as shown […]
   • In one-way (pan joist) and two-way (waffle) joist construction, a similar layout is usually adopted.
4. ›+ 11 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A type of fabric woven with a honeycomb texture.

   2. 5

      To smash (something).

      • The cab was waffled in between the two, Marsh never having a prayer or even a full comprehension of what happened to him. He was crushed flat, never even hearing the deafening screech of metal.
      • Then I waffled him and knocked him down. Why I cut myself open with the razor, I'm not completely sure. I was like the idiot in a bar who gets all worked up and smashes a bottle over his head [...]
   3. 6

      To speak or write evasively or vaguely.

      • Again the answer was "waffled," for this did not say that no air units had been alerted. Only that none had been "identified." Moreover, the reply concerned air "unit[s]" as opposed to "air craft".
   4. 7

      Of a bird

      Of a bird: to move in a side-to-side motion while descending before landing.

      • The geese waffled as they approached the water.
   5. 8

      Of an aircraft or motor vehicle

      Of an aircraft or motor vehicle: to travel in a slow and unhurried manner.

   6. 9

      To be indecisive about something

      To be indecisive about something; to dither, to vacillate, to waver.

      • I waffled between going to the deposition and going to the doctor's. Wishing Barbara was there, I decided to call the doctor afterward.
      • A source close to Altman says the board had agreed in principle to resign and to allow Altman and Brockman to return, but has since waffled — missing a key 5PM PT deadline by which many OpenAI staffers were set to resign.
   7. 10

      Often followed by on

      Often followed by on: to speak or write (something) at length without any clear aim or point; to ramble.

      • Unless you have a great line in gags or repartee don't waffle on aimlessly to your audience, or make in-jokes among yourselves, the band or the compere/DJ.
      • Before getting down to the nitty gritty of beekeeping, most contributors to BBJ like to waffle on for a bit about the weather, the state of their garden or something equally inconsequential.
      • She waffled on for ages. Usually I'd say something smart or make it obvious that I wasn't interested and couldn't be bothered listening.
   8. 11

      To hold horizontally and rotate (one's hand) back and forth in a gesture of ambivalence…

      To hold horizontally and rotate (one's hand) back and forth in a gesture of ambivalence or vacillation.

      • “[…] You get anything useful on the background checks?” / He waffled his hand. “Nothing like what you brought back, but still some interesting notes.[…]”
   9. 12

      (Often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious.

      • This interesting point seems to get lost a little within a lot of self-important waffle.
   10. 13

       Of a dog

       Of a dog: to bark with a high pitch like a puppy, or in muffled manner.

   11. 14

       The high-pitched sound made by a young dog

       The high-pitched sound made by a young dog; also, a muffled bark.

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