The following terms are defined on this page to clarify the meaning of each of them as they relate to Waze. The are provided alphabetically for your convenience.
An assigned role to help manage a given geographical area. See Area Manager
AMGR - Waze AM Layers, AM Layers Editor for Country Managers
This third party web tool is used by Country Managers and Regional Coordinators to visualized managed areas for assignments. One of several tools from WME-TOOLS.
The ability of a smartphone to translate a user's voice commands into actions on the device
BC - Best Continuation
The segment that Waze determines is what drivers would consider the "no turning path" or "going straight" through the intersection. This segment will get a 'continue' instruction, which is ignored by the client app. See Best continuation for more details.
BGS - Big Green Sign
A large green sign is the US standard road signage for exits and other information.
BM - Bookmarklet
A Javascript stored as a web browser bookmark. See Bookmarklets
Candies, bonus candies
Small candy shaped icons that appear on the Waze client app. Drive over them to collect the points associated. See Road candies for more information.
Carpool, carpool lane
A vehicle with 2 or more occupants. Also known as HOV Lanes and Transit Lanes, are lanes restricted for the use of cars carrying a specified number of occupants. See Carpool lanes for more information.
CDP - Census Designated Place
A United States Census Bureau term for a concentration of population that lack a separate municipal government, but otherwise resemble incorporated places. It is sometimes added to a city name with that classification if there are multiple cities in the same state with that name.
Central reservation
Strip of land or barrier separating a dual carriageway. Also known as a median.
CM - Country Manager
An assigned role to help manage an entire country.
Cookies are the dots on unconfirmed roads (sometimes called pacman roads). Cookie munching (or road munching) is driving over such roads and earns points. It also confirms the road is drive-able for the Waze server. See What are those dots... for more information.
Dead-end node
This is an endpoint node found at the end of a segment without another segment connected to its end, when the other endpoint node of the segment is connected to one or more other segments.
Directionality
Whether a road is one-way, two-way or Unknown.
Divided highway
See dual carriageway
Dogleg
A dogleg is a shift in a road. Normally, when Road A meets Road B, both segments of Road A are at the same junction. In a dogleg, they don't match up. To cross road B on Road A, you must turn briefly onto Road B and turn back onto Road A short distance later. It is called a dogleg because it has the characteristic shape of a dog's leg.
See also micro-dogleg (mDL), a technique with a similar appearance to a dogleg, used for altering the angle Waze sees at a junction, which affects turn instructions.
Dual carriageway
A road or highway in which the two directions of traffic are separated by a barrier, strip of land, or other obstruction (known as a central reservation or median). In Waze, such roads may be represented by parallel segments, one for each direction, but this should only be done under certain specific conditions.
Editable Area
A defined distance around the drives you have taken with Waze running within which you have rights to edit unlocked objects. See editable area for more information.
Endpoint node
Also called an end node is found at both ends of a segment, is visible only after selecting a segment while in WME, and when joined to other endpoint nodes create a junction.
Motorway; the major road system in your country. For more information on Freeway select this link.
Geometry
The layout or shape of a segment. Each road is made up of one or more segments. The segments are made up of one or more straight line sections. These sections can be short, effectively allowing curves to be created in a segment. See Editing existing roads for more information.
Geometry node
Segment geometry nodeLandmark geometry nodeWhen editing a segment or Area Place, large white circles appear where the segment changes direction ultimately altering its shape. Click and drag them individually to alter the geometry of the segment or landmark. Press the d key while the mouse is hovered over them to delete the geometry node. Alternately hold the d key and then move the mouse over the nodes you want to delete.
The smaller white circles between the geometry nodes are "inter"-geometry nodes. When you click and drag an inter-geometry node, it becomes a larger geometry node and two more inter-geometry nodes appear halfway between each side again.
A Global Champ is an editor selected by Waze management that shows long standing contributions to the entire global Waze community. Typically requires having been a Local Champ for some period of time. See: Your_Rank_and_Points - Forum_badges
Gore
A small triangular piece of land. The (typically) grassy area where the exit sign is placed. It also describes the area of land where the ramp merges with the highway.
GPS - Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a satellite based system used by navigation devices to locate the device anywhere on the globe. Applications like Waze use this information to provide turn-by-turn information.
See the GPS disambiguation page for links to the various related Waze topics.
Grade
The level or elevation of a road with respect to surrounding roads. So a road would normally be at level grade. A road going underneath in a tunnel would be a -1 grade. A road going over would be a +1 grade. At complicated junctions such as freeway interchanges there can be many levels. So on a flat map we assign levels to show that while the roads cross, they do not connect because they are at different heights or elevations. See At-grade connectors for more information.
HOT, HOT Lane - High Occupancy Toll
A lane that permits single passenger vehicles who choose to pay a toll to take advantage of a lane that generally moves faster than the other lanes in the same direction. See Carpool lanes for more information.
HOV, HOV Lane - High Occupancy Vehicle
A vehicle with 2 or more occupants. HOV Lanes, also known as Carpool Lanes and Transit Lanes, are lanes restricted for the use of cars carrying a specified number of occupants. See Carpool lanes for more information.
IGN
Editors paid by Waze to make updates to the map. Not to be confused with inter-geometry node. See IGN for more information.
IL
Israel. Standard two-letter ISO code, which also refers to the routing and editor infrastructures which is distinct from Rest Of World and North America.
Illinois. Standard postal code for the state of Illinois in North America.
Inter-geometry node
A "grab handle" that allows you to create a new geometry node. When you drag an inter-geometry node, it bends the segment at that point; when you release it, the inter-geometry node will become a new geometry node.
Inter-geometry nodes appear on road segments and area places (previously landmarks). They will only appear when the segment/place is selected and the mouse is hovering over it. They appear midway between each existing pair of adjacent geometry nodes, allowing you to bend the shape midway between existing bends. In the case of segments, they also appear midway between the endpoints and the first existing geometry node, or, if there are no existing geometry nodes, midway in the segment.
Intl or INTL - International
International abbreviation used to refer to the non-North America server infrastructure and location. See also ROW
Junction
The point where two or more road segments connect at their ends. It is sometimes called a 'junction node' or 'junction point', but should not be confused with other types of node.
Junctions look different depending on the situation:
Selected and editable segment junction
Selected and uneditable segment junction (no permissions to change due to locks)
May refer to road elevation or the WME Zoom Control. See Level for other similar uses of the term.
Local Champ (LC)
A Local Champ is an editor selected by Waze management that shows long standing contributions to the Waze community for their country. Typically Local Champs have been a Country Manager for some period of time. See: Your_Rank_and_Points - Forum_badges
Map issue
A button on the Waze client app to indicate there is a problem with the map. See Update Requests for more information.
Micro-dogleg
A micro-dogleg, abbreviated mDL, is a one or two geometry nodes at the end of a segment, which change the true angle at which the segment meets its junction, without changing the appearance of the junction. The geometry nodes are very short, and nearly or completely invisible at the zoom levels available on the client (app). An mDL is frequently used to force Turn instructions instead of Keep/Exit instructions and vice-versa. They have a shape similar to a dogleg junction.
For example, if the angle at which a local road meets a highway is 20 degrees, Waze will instruct a user turning off the highway to "EXIT RIGHT" (assuming right hand drive countries). If we consider this a turnoff (at grade junction), and not an 'exit,' we will want to force Waze to treat it as a turn. By making a tiny crook (the micro-dogleg) within less than 2.5 meters of the local segment, we can have the final piece of the segment meet the highway at 90 degrees, and cause a turn instruction. For more details, see the Junction Style Guide and the technical paper on Waze instructions.
MP - Map Problem
An automated report from the Waze servers that identifies a possible problem with the map. See Map problem for more information.
Map tile, tile
The Waze map is divided into a grid using 1km-square areas which are called tiles or map tiles. Changes to the map are processed on a per-tile basis. Changes to any part of a map tile causes Waze to mark the tile as changed and it will be rebuilt in the next map update cycle.
MapRaid
A collaborative effort by many editors to fix the map and resolve the majority of reports in an area. Details at the MapRaid entry.
Median, median barrier
Strip of land or barrier separating a divided highway or motorway. Also known as a central reservation. See Dual carriageway.
MH - Major Highway
One of many road types. For more information on Major Highway select this link. Note that when abbreviated to MH, the "M" must be capitalized to differentiate from "mH - Minor Highway."
mH - Minor Highway
One of many road types. For more information on Minor Highway select this link. Note that when abbreviated to mH, the "m" must not be capitalized, to differentiate from "MH - Major Highway."
Driving over roads which have not previously been driven (pacman roads). See cookie munching for more information.
NA - North America
Abbreviation used for the servers that cover the USA and Canada maps. It does not include Mexico.
nanoRep
As of 2014-11-18, Waze has retired the use of Nanorep favor of a Google product. This section will need to be revised accordingly.
The automated support system managed by Waze directly. It provides information and basic troubleshooting information on Waze. It may have newer information not yet updated in the Wiki. See the nanoRep support site for answers to Waze questions.
Starting point for a driving route, with the destination being the ending point.
Pacman roads
Unconfirmed roads marked with dots (cookies) that have not been driven upon since being created or significantly edited in the Waze Map Editor. Driving over these roads earns you points and turns your car icon into a Pacman-type character that "munches the dots." See cookie munching for more information.
A browser link (http://...) that shows the map with the same view as the user who created the Permalink (PL). Location, zoom, layers, and selected segments will be the same. You can find the icon for the Permalink in the lower right corner of the WME screen (two chains linked together). When the mouse is hovered over the icon, press Control-C to copy the Permalink to the clipboard or right-click it and choose copy). You can then paste the PL into an e-mail or forum message so others can access what you are seeing.
Note that you should not copy the URL from the browser address bar as a Permalink, as it does not change as you work on the screen. The Permalink icon always has the current Permalink. You can also click the Permalink icon to completely reload your current window without changing the view.
PLR - Parking Lot Road
Not to be confused with the Area Place called Parking Lot. For more information on Parking Lot Road select this link.
PM - Private Message
Every Waze user has a personal mail account inside the Waze forums for the purpose of communicating with each other. See Private message for more information.
Pothole
Also called a kettle or chuckhole, is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole. The Waze client allows users to report this as a road hazard.
PS - Primary Street
Primary street is a road type that is typically a collector road in a city. For more information on Primary Street select this link.
PUR - Place Update Request
A Place Update Request is similar to an Update Request, reported by a user from the Waze client app, requesting a new Place or an update to photo or details of an existing Place. It is also a layer in the Waze Map Editor.
Ramp
A freeway entrance or exit; also known as a sliproad. Ramps may be on-ramps or off-ramps. Ramps used to connect roads at a different grade from the connecting road or freeway. In the USA see ramp road type (for other countries see Road types) and Junction Style Guide for more information.
Reverse connectivity (or reverse connection) is a situation where a hidden turn is allowed going the wrong direction into a one-way street (against traffic), or leading the wrong direction out of a one-way street. The term is often abbreviated "revcon" or "RevCon." For more details see Reverse connectivity.
Road munching
Earning points by driving over roads (distance traveled). See cookie munching.
Roundabout angle
A roundabout angle is the relative position in compass degrees where a segment connects to a roundabout.
Rest Of World. One of the three separate sets of servers (infrastructure) containing Waze mapping and navigation systems. The three are Israel, North America (Canada and United States only), and the "Rest of the World," (ROW) or simply, "World." Note that Mexico is part of the ROW infrastructure, not North America.
ROW contains everything not in the dedicated infrastructure for the other two. It includes all of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand, South and Central America, and many island countries and territories.
All editing, driving, and reporting must take place on the correct server. This usually happens automatically, except for the editor, where switching to a specific destination may prompt you to change infrastructure.
Segment
Defines a section of roadway on which vehicles may travel or a pathway where only people may travel. Multiple segments are connected by junctions. For more information see Create a Road in the Map Editing Guide
A segment is defined in the Waze database as having a connection, via a junction, back to itself. That can cause routing irregularities, but also may be the future of how to define a u-turn. As of today, self connectivity is not desirable. Tools such as the Color Highlighting userscript can help identify this situation.
Sliproad
A motorway entrance or exit; a ramp. Sliproads are often at a different grade from the connecting road or motorway.
Smudged city
A map problem that shows cities on the map in places they should not be, or unnecessarily duplicated. See the Smudged city topic for more information.
Split
Split has been used to refer to several very different things, and this has been a source of confusion in the Waze editing community. Its use has therefore been deprecated, and more descriptive terms have been chosen.
In order to avoid confusion, please use these terms when discussing these topics.
Fork: A fork in the road; a point where a single road diverges into two directions (previously referred to as a split in the road, or the road splits. This is the MUTCD definition of split.)
Divided: A divided roadway or dual carriageway; a road comprised of two separate one-way roads with a dividing barrier, median or central reservation (previously referred to as split road)
Divide, Dividing, Un-Dividing
Divide: To convert a two-way road into a divided roadway or dual carriageway on the waze map, by dividing a single two-way road into two adjacent one-way roads (previously referred to as splitting a road or to split a road)
Un-Divide: To convert a divided roadway into a single two way road.(previously referred to as un-splitting)
Cutting one segment into two shorter segments (previously referred to as splitting)
SV - Street View
Google Maps provides the ability to see local roads from the driver's perspective using the street view icon.
Also known as Carpool Lanes and HOV Lanes, are lanes restricted for the use of cars carrying a specified number of occupants. See Carpool lanes for more information.
TTS - Text-to-speech
Navigation instructions spoken to the driver by the Waze application that includes street names. Some of the "voices" Waze uses for navigation support TTS, while others can read directions but cannot give street names due to lack of TTS.
Turn angle
A turn angle is the supplementary angle to the junction angle between any two segments connected at a junction.
An Update Request is a Map Issue reported by a user from the Waze client app. It is also a layer in the Map Editor. See update requests for more information.
Voice
Spoken navigation instructions. The Waze app can support several voices for each geographic location, which have different qualities (language, male or female, supports TTS or not, pitch and other sound characteristics). For example, in North America, the primary voices are Samantha and Tom, which are both English voices supporting TTS. Most voices have a "human" name associated with them, but not all, and some have novelty names, such as "Boy Band." Waze occasionally provides celebrity voices, such as Kevin Hart in late 2013.
Wayfinder
Road segments designed to give instructions that Waze would otherwise not give to drivers. This is often done where the default instructions might confuse the driver, or fail to make a correct maneuver. Wayfinders almost always occur at a fork, and use short extra segments, differing road types, specially-named segments, or all three to accomplish their goals.
Wayfinders may be used for exit-only lanes, multiple road branches, turn instructions needed where exit ramps transition to local streets or other highways, or to avoid accidentally taking any of the above. It is a complex topic, and relies on in-depth understanding of Waze's standard rules for generating instructions. See the Junction Style Guide for more information.
Wazer
A user of the Waze application
WME - Waze Map Editor
Waze Map Editor is the web browser interface for updating the Waze map database.
Selected and editable segment junction
Selected and uneditable segment junction (no permissions to change due to locks)
Changed, unsaved junction
