Meaning
To want; to desire or need. 'Mi waan go home' means I want to go home, and 'yuh waan anyting?' is do you want anything. Beyond desire, it also expresses something being on the verge of happening — 'di sky waan rain' means the sky looks as though it wants to rain, it is about to. Worn down from 'want', it is among the most common everyday verbs in the language, marking both what a person wishes for and what a situation seems poised to do.
Examples
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Mi waan a plate a food.
I want a plate of food.
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Wah yuh waan mi fi do?
What do you want me to do?
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Di baby waan sleep.
The baby wants to sleep / is about to sleep.
Origin
The Patois pronunciation of 'want', with the vowel lengthened and the final 't' dropped.
How it’s used
Means 'want', and by extension 'about to / on the verge of' ('waan rain').