noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˈweɪstə/
rhymes with -eɪstə(ɹ)
UK:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:W EY1 S T ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Someone or something that wastes; someone who squanders or spends extravagantly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
An imperfection in the wick of a candle, causing it to waste.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: thief
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A destroyer or plunderer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
An item that is spoiled during its manufacture.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
An idle, worthless person; a loser.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, slang
Examples
2024, Laura Carter, Fake It 'til You Make It I don't want a total waster and I'm definitely not looking for a hook-up, but I really do need an okay date. Someone normal. Someone I can introduce to family and friends [...]
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
A kind of cudgel; also, a blunt-edged sword used as a foil.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
Topics: fencing, government, hobbies, lifestyle, martial-arts, military, politics, sports, war
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
A leister; a spear for catching fish.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Scotland, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.