Ah·vaz or Ah·waz (ä-wäz?) A city of southwest Iran northeast of Basra, Iraq. Modern Ahvaz was built on extensive ruins of an ancient Persian city.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.