wafer

1 of 2

noun

wa·​fer ˈwā-fər How to pronounce wafer (audio)
plural wafers
1
a
: a thin crisp cake, candy, or cracker
b
: a round thin piece of unleavened bread used in the celebration of the Eucharist
2
: an adhesive disk of dried paste with added coloring matter used as a seal
3
a
: a thin disk or ring resembling a wafer and variously used (as for a valve or diaphragm)
b
: a thin slice of semiconductor (such as silicon) used as a base for an electronic component or circuit
wafer-like adjective
or less commonly waferlike
wafer-like cookies
a wafer-like electronic sensor

wafer

2 of 2

verb

wafered; wafering ˈwā-f(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce wafer (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to seal, close, or fasten with a wafer
2
: to divide (something, such as a silicon rod) into wafers

Examples of wafer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Chocolate wafers that melt into enticing pools and an optional sprinkling of flaky salt put them over the top. Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2023 This no-bake treat starts with a package of vanilla wafers, which are crunched up so they can be infused with the flavor of bourbon and toasted pecans. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 10 Nov. 2023 About $250,000 worth of the chocolate wafer candies has basically been held hostage, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Tori Latham, Robb Report, 8 Nov. 2023 Top bars with banana rounds and vanilla wafers as desired; serve immediately. John Somerall, Southern Living, 24 Nov. 2023 Think outside the wafer by making this cake roll from Diethood. People Staff, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023 The wafers come in eight flavors, including, for some reason, clove. Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023 And even as other economies like South Korea and Taiwan built up their own chip industries, Singapore started to expand into design and wafer fabrication. Bylionel Lim, Fortune, 1 Nov. 2023 GaAs wafers are used in RF equipment, LEDs, and—perhaps most prominently—solar cells. IEEE Spectrum, 10 Oct. 2023
Verb
How To Make Banana Pudding Cheesecake With an impressive ring of vanilla wafers around the edge of the cheesecake, and decadent filling, no one will know how quickly this dessert came together. Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 22 Nov. 2023 Tips for the Best Banana Pudding Cheesecake For the best banana pudding cheesecake, keep these tips in mind: Use the crust: Press the crust lightly up the sides of the pan to give the ring of vanilla wafers stability. Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 22 Nov. 2023 Layer half of vanilla wafers in an 8-inch square baking dish. Rebecca Lang, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2023 The blue-and-white Intel theme is only the start of this nifty mod, which resembles an Intel CPU wafer just off the fab. John Burek, PCMAG, 5 June 2023 Instead, the lasers on the wafer are undercut so that they are attached to the source wafer only by small tethers. Roel Baets, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Apr. 2023 LAM Research, a company that supplies wafer fabrication equipment and related services to the semiconductor industry saw its last stock split in 2020. Trefis Team, Forbes, 9 June 2022 Highly energy efficient and often wafer thin, OLEDs are the technology of choice in high-end cellphone displays and televisions. New York Times, 27 Mar. 2022 The bottom of a L’industrie pie — wafer thin but still somehow pliable — is a miracle of engineering. New York Times, 17 Dec. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wafer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French wafer, walfre, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch wafele waffle

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1748, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wafer was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near wafer

Cite this Entry

“Wafer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wafer. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

wafer

noun
wa·​fer
ˈwā-fər
1
a
: a thin crisp cake or cracker
b
: a round thin piece of bread used in the sacrament of Communion
2
: something (as a piece of candy or a computer chip) resembling a wafer especially in thin round form

Medical Definition

wafer

noun
wa·​fer ˈwā-fər How to pronounce wafer (audio)
: cachet

More from Merriam-Webster on wafer

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