waiver

waiver — noun

1. a written document or formal agreement by which someone gives up a known legal r

1.nounB2
Definition

a written document or formal agreement by which someone gives up a known legal right, claim, or requirement — for example, agreeing not to sue a business for injuries or accepting a reduced fee instead of a full payment you are owed

Example

Before the surgery, Roya signed a waiver releasing the hospital from any responsibility for complications.

sign + waiver + releasing [party] from [liability]

The university granted Jenna a tuition waiver because of her excellent academic record.

grant + tuition waiver

Common collocations
  • sign a waiver
  • grant a waiver
  • liability waiver
  • medical waiver
  • tuition waiver
  • visa waiver
  • fee waiver
  • waiver form
Synonyms
  • exemption

    more general; can be a status rather than a signed document ('tax exemption')

  • release

    focuses on freeing someone from a legal obligation, often through a signed form

  • dispensation

    formal, often used in religious or bureaucratic contexts; implies special permission to break a rule

Antonyms
  • enforcement

    the act of making someone follow a rule or obligation rather than excusing them from it

Grammar Patterns

a waiver of [right/claim]

sign / grant / obtain a waiver

Usage Note

Subject is usually a person or organisation that holds a right or imposes a requirement; the waiver releases the other party from that obligation. Often appears in the patterns 'sign a waiver' (the typical action by the person accepting the terms) and 'waiver of [right]' (the formal legal phrase describing what is given up).

Common Mistakes

I waived the document yesterday.
I signed a waiver yesterday.
'waive' is the verb (to give up a right); 'waiver' is the noun (the document or formal agreement).
She asked for a waive of the fee.
She asked for a waiver of the fee.
After a preposition or article, use the noun 'waiver,' not the verb 'waive.'

2. a procedure in professional team sports by which a club removes a contracted pla

2.nounC1
Definition

a procedure in professional team sports by which a club removes a contracted player from its active roster and offers other clubs the chance to sign that player first, before the player is released or sent to a lower-level team

Example

The baseball team put the veteran pitcher on waivers, allowing other clubs to sign him.

put [player] on waivers

Diego cleared waivers and became a free agent, free to negotiate with any team.

clear waivers

Common collocations
  • on waivers
  • place on waivers
  • clear waivers
  • claim off waivers
  • waiver wire
Synonyms
  • release

    broader term for letting a player go; does not imply the multi-team claiming procedure

  • assignment

    the formal process of moving a player's contract to another team or league level

Grammar Patterns

place / put [player] on waivers

clear waivers

claim [player] off waivers

Usage Note

Almost always appears in the plural form 'waivers' in North American sports contexts. Common collocations are 'place/put [a player] on waivers,' 'clear waivers' (no team claims the player), and 'claim [a player] off waivers' (another team takes the player). Distinct from sense 1 in that it describes a transfer procedure rather than a signed document.

Common Mistakes

The player signed a sports waiver.
The player was placed on waivers.
In sports, 'waivers' is a procedural status, not a document that the player signs.
He waived the outfielder' (when meaning the team used the waiver process).
The team placed the outfielder on waivers.
'Waive' alone means to give up a right; the sports procedure uses 'place on waivers.'

Word family

  • waive
    verbB2
  • unwaivable
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words involve being freed from an obligation, but they differ in context and formality. An 'exemption' is a status granted to a person or group (e.g. 'tax exemption'); it does not require a signed document. A 'release' is a broad term for freeing someone from a legal duty — often a signed form but can also be verbal. 'Dispensation' is the most formal of the four, typically used in religious, bureaucratic, or academic settings for special permission to ignore a rule (e.g. 'a dispensation from the dean'). 'Relinquishment' focuses on the act of giving something up voluntarily rather than receiving permission. In practice, 'waiver' is the most common term in everyday law and business for a written agreement in which a right is surrendered. For example, you sign a 'liability waiver' before a risky activity (not a 'liability exemption'), and you apply for a 'visa waiver' to enter a country (not a 'visa dispensation').

exemption ↗release ↗dispensationrelinquishment

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • voluntarily

Phrases

  • by waiver
  • on waivers
  • off waivers

Prepositions

Etymology

Anglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'waiver' comes from the Anglo-French legal term 'weyver,' meaning 'to abandon or relinquish,' which entered English in the 14th century. It was originally used in the context of abandoning property or legal claims. The noun form appeared in the 17th century as a legal term for the document that formalised the act of giving up a right. The sports sense developed in North American professional leagues during the late 19th century as a formal procedure for managing player contracts between clubs.