Waive and wave sound alike, but they mean very different things.
Waive means to give up, excuse, or choose not to enforce something. It often appears with fees, rights, rules, or requirements. If a school agrees to waive an application fee, you do not have to pay it. If a person signs a paper to waive a claim, they are giving up that claim.
Wave usually refers to motion. It can mean a hand gesture, a moving swell of water, or a flowing movement through a crowd or place. You might wave to a friend across the street. You can also talk about a wave in the ocean or a wave of excitement after good news.
- Use waive for giving something up: “The coach agreed to waive the late penalty.”
- Use wave for motion or a signal: “He gave a wave before the train left.”
A simple memory trick helps: waive is often about rules or rights, while wave is about movement.
