waffle

waffle — noun

1. a crisp, thick batter cake baked between two heated metal plates with a grid pat

1.nounB1
Definition

a crisp, thick batter cake baked between two heated metal plates with a grid pattern, giving it a distinctive square-marked surface on both sides.

Example

Nkechi ordered a waffle with fresh strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast.

a + waffle with [topping]

Hugo's aunt gave him a waffle iron for his birthday last month.

collocation: waffle iron

Common collocations
  • hot waffle
  • waffle iron
  • Belgian waffle
  • waffle with cream
  • waffle maker
Synonyms
  • pancake

    a thinner, rounder, flatter batter cake, without the square grid pattern; often served in a stack

  • crepe

    a very thin, delicate pancake of French origin, not leavened and lacking the crisp, grid-patterned texture of a waffle

Grammar Patterns

a + waffle

waffles (plural)

2. words or text that sound meaningful but contain little real substance or useful

2.nounC1
Definition

words or text that sound meaningful but contain little real substance or useful detail.

Example

Dewi's report was full of waffle and completely missed the main issue.

full of waffle

Élise told the speaker to cut the waffle and give a straight answer.

collocation: cut the waffle

Common collocations
  • full of waffle
  • cut the waffle
  • remove the waffle
  • just waffle
Synonyms
  • hot air

    more informal and dismissive than waffle; implies intentional exaggeration rather than mere wordiness

  • nonsense

    stronger and more negative; suggests the content is not just wordy but false or absurd

  • gibberish

    focuses on the lack of clarity to the point of being impossible to understand, not just empty

Grammar Patterns

full of waffle

just waffle

cut the waffle

Usage Note

This sense is uncountable — you cannot say 'waffles' to mean empty talk. Common in informal British English; less common in American English.

Common Mistakes

His presentation was full of waffles.
His presentation was full of waffle.
In this sense, waffle is uncountable and does not take a plural -s.

waffle — verb

Word family

  • waffling
    nounB2
  • waffler
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe speech that fails to communicate clearly, but they differ in why. Waffle (this sense) means saying a lot without reaching any definite point — the speaker may or may not be aware of it. Ramble suggests disorganised, wandering thought rather than avoidance; a rambling speaker jumps between topics without structure. Blather is more dismissive and implies the content is foolish or trivial from the start. Equivocate is the most deliberate: a person who equivocates chooses vague or ambiguous language on purpose to avoid committing to a position, often in political or legal contexts. For example: 'The politician waffled when asked about taxes' (talked vaguely without answering); 'The politician equivocated when asked about taxes' (deliberately chose words that could be interpreted either way).

rambleblatherequivocate

Common collocations

Nouns

  • waffle iron
  • waffle mix
  • waffle batter

Phrases

  • full of waffle
  • cut the waffle

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-GermanicDutchEnglish

The food sense comes from Dutch 'wafel', from Proto-Germanic '*wabila-' meaning 'honeycomb', named after the grid pattern of squares that resembles a honeycomb. The 'empty talk' and 'indecisive' senses developed in late 19th-century British English, possibly from dialectal 'waff' meaning 'to yelp or bark' — the image being of someone making meaningless noise rather than saying anything useful. Both meanings are now standard in informal British usage.