waifs

noun

plural of waif
as in beggars
a young person who is thin and appears homeless or impoverished the sad sight of waifs on the street

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for waifs
  1. beggars
  2. tramps
Noun
  • Dhaka’s rundown streets peppered with the homeless, vendors and child beggars.
    — Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Robert Pattinson’s big outburst in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey,’ has gone viral—here’s the ‘beggars’ meme, explained.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of beggars
Noun
  • One of the tramps jumping off a freight car was the juvenile player, Frankie Darrow.
    — Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026
  • In a California town called Anzar in the late-19th century, Paulette is living with a local magnate’s eccentric son who’s fascinated by the tramps gathering outside his manor.
    — Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of tramps
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

waif
waifs
wail
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Cite this Entry

“Waifs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waifs. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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